


Blood of Magic

by VoltageStone



Series: I'm Working on It!!! [4]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Background Hamanda & Chariox & Lotte/Frank, Diakko, Dianakko, F/F, slow-burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-06-25 23:31:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoltageStone/pseuds/VoltageStone
Summary: Magic is a part of the world, unceasing and pulsing with life. Despite this, witchcraft is slowly slinking away to the shadows of humanity as technology is fast to replace it. Many seek to restore witchcraft, including witch-prodigy Diana Cavendish, the last heir to her name. Even with her studious approach and association with deeply-rooted tradition, she cannot find the answer. Then there's Atsuko Kagari; first-generation (aspiring) witch whose talent leaves much to be desired. Like everybody else, Diana can't fathom any chance of Atsuko being successful with witchcraft, especially since Atsuko's attitude is just about as unorthodox as they come.And yet...Diana felt like she found what was missing in her quest of restoration. Unlike the ordinary witch, where magic is wielded, Atsuko seems to have magic running within her blood, both literally and figuratively a part of her. Magic works in curious ways, it seems. And can be born out of the most unlikely of origins...*[There's heavy references to Little Witch Academia for use of direct dialogue and reliance on canon events. By chapter 5, this isn't a imple retelling of the canon.]*





	1. Part I. Aspiring Witches [Ep.#1]

**Author's Note:**

> I'm honestly really excited for this story. I have a long ass author's note at the end explaining some things, which I would recommend you read if you want to know what the deal is with this story. Also, not gonna have a schedule with updating. Tried that before, failed.
> 
> Anyway, that aside, I hope you enjoy!  
> :)

The sun was warm and the breeze was cool. The day was just right, especially if you were racing along the streets as Atsuko Kagari was, her basket stock-full with food from the local market. Even with her speed, she took the time to enjoy the small town, going down each and every street before getting home; there wasn't any worry of the food as it was all tucked away in a small icebox. As she began to ride up an incline, her breaths became heavier and her grip tighter against the handle bars.

She tensed her jaw at the last few pedals and gave a long, tired huff. Atsuko looked behind her and smiled. It was funny, really, that she trained herself to ride all the way up the hill—without pausing—for nearly a decade and now that she can do it within a few minutes, she was leaving for another country. Atsuko inhaled slowly, then exhaled with the same energy. As she rested (because riding up that incline _was_ a feat), she gazed down at the town below the mountain edge with a small, gentle smile; there was the school Atsuko went to, making friends that all came and went, leaving her. Then there was the school down the road where she was _supposed_ to go, if she was just an ordinary girl.

Well, she was an ordinary girl. Atsuko smiled cheekily and pulled out a card from her back pocket. Not for long though. The card glimmered in her hands, kept clean just as it was the night she got it when visiting the other country: England. On it was an energetic witch with flaming hair and a cheerful grin.

Atsuko was an ordinary girl, but someday she'd be a witch.

That was a fact.

Once again, Atsuko rode down the road, turning right at the next light. Up ahead, at the very back of the street, sat a small house with an older woman working in the garden bed. She slowed before hopping off the bike and walked the rest of the way to the open-garage. _"Did you get the food for your mum?"_ the woman asked, picking up her head. Her smile was warm, hair greying.

 _"Yes, Grandma, I did,"_ Atsuko answered. _"Is she still cooking dinner?"_

 _"I think so."_ She finished potting the last of the vibrant flowers and clapped her hands. _"Make sure you wash your dirty hands, Akko! We don't want our food diseased."_

Atsuko—better known as Akko—sighed, though answered, _"I will. I'm just going to see_ _—"_

 _"Akko,"_ her grandmother said warningly. _"You will get the house all dirty after you cleaned it."_ Akko pouted, though mumbled that she would do as she was told and walked into the house. She kicked off her shoes and slipped on her slippers.

"Wash your hands, you'll get the food diseased," she grumbled in English; this was always a habit of hers, to complain and swear and shout in English whenever she never wanted anybody to know what was being said. It turned out handy, until her uncle (who taught her initially) gave everybody some lessons after she hissed a mighty cuss in front of him.

_"What are you complaining about now, Akko?"_

She turned towards the kitchen and answered, _"Nothing. Grandma said I was going to give our food a disease."_

_"Wash your hands."_

_"Mum!"_

_"Akko! Do not complain behind our backs,"_ Akko's mother snapped from the sink, adding in English, "I can talk English." Akko smiled to herself, washing her hands obediently after setting the icebox down. _"What? I said that correctly."_

Atsuko nodded, then murmured, _"Yes, you definitely did Mom."_

The woman paused and looked at her daughter, eyes narrowed. Akko watched her as well, somewhat smugly. _"Do not tease me, Akko. What are you laughing about?"_

 _"I am not laughing,"_ Akko answered innocently. _"I am just standing here."_

_"Then how do you say it, then?"_

Akko chuckled and replied, "I can speak English." She then explained, _"It is just more proper, Mum."_

_"Well when I get something wrong, Akko, tell me!"_

_"I will, Mum,"_ Akko promised. She just couldn't help but not to. Her parents' slip-ups reminded her of when she started speaking her second language and her uncle's humored smile. She gazed at her mother as she continued cooking. After a few minutes, when the food was completely prepared, Akko's mom wiped her hands and picked up a framed picture overlooking the sink. Atsuko, years prior, smiled greatly into the camera, holding a large trophy after a long day of running.

Her mother chuckled softly, then glanced at her daughter. _"I remember when you had your stick-legs."_

_"Mum..."_

Another sentimental grin. _"And look at you now,"_ she continued, brushing Akko's bangs from her face, _"growing up. I still cannot believe you are taller than your dad now."_

Akko drew her attention towards the couch where her father sat, enjoying the television. Like her mother, he was short and not quite as lean and tall as she was. Well, Akko knew that time would come to an end: Europeans were taller, after all. _"Mum..."_ mumbled Akko bashfully. She paused as her mother pulled her into a hug, then embraced back.

 _"It is going to be a long year without you, Akko,"_ she murmured quietly.

 _"It will be for me too, Mum,"_ Atsuko replied softly. _"But I will show you. I will become the best witch there is, like Shiny Chariot!"_ Akko felt her mom chuckle into her shoulder. When she pulled away to her food, Akko added, _"I promise."_

 _"I know you will,"_ her mother replied. _"Just make sure you study and follow the rules."_

_"Mum..."_

The woman arched a brow. _"I gave birth to you, Atsuko! I know what you do!"_

_"Mum! I will, I will!"_

**. . .**

Gracefully, the rider posted in her trot as the horse with a gleaming coat weaved in between the poles. Her form was immaculate and nothing short of natural. As was everything Diana Cavendish did. And though it may not seam, her breathing was slowly unravelling to become labored; her thighs and calves ached, shoulders sore and arms tired. This was just as unsurprising as Diana's typical, immaculate posture. She _was_ a Cavendish after all.

She looked down at her horse's greying mane for the barest of seconds, noting the thin line of sweat. Diana grinned. She finally tired him out. After years of riding this gelding, she'd only begun to be the last one with energy leftover the past few seasons—even if that energy was worn. "One more jump, Garson," she murmured with a crisp and relatively posh English accent.

Diana guided Garson by the reins and a light squeeze of her leg, sending them off to a lovely canter. At the sudden cough, however, Diana grunted and lost a stirrup. She thinned her lips as Garson jumped over the poles, landing with a trip. He slowed to a walk and turned his head around; the weight on his back was certainly lighter, wasn't it?

Diana patted her breeches of dirt before strolling towards Garson, petting his neck. "Your hooves need to get done, don't they?" she asked quietly. She slipped the reins over his head and led him back towards a stepping-block. The cough wasn't too much of a concern, though a sign that _perhaps_ it was time to cool down. He was just older and not the feisty pony he once was.

And because she learned that the number-one rule of falling off a horse is to get right back on (unless there is something broken, of course), she eased her way onto the saddle. "We're not doing anything," she muttered, "just walking around." With a small smile, Diana recalled the days where she was not to get off her horse until she was in sore shambles. In due time, it was until Garson was tired and in need of some fresh water and his grain.

After a couple of laps of walking, Diana got off the saddle and walked to the small stables, Garson right beside her. An older woman chuckled as she stepped inside, walking towards Garson's stall. "I see you tumbled a little bit by the jump?" she asked.

Diana nodded. "I'm glad that the arena was just covered, otherwise it would've been a harder landing.

"What happened?" she asked, resuming her sweeping. "It's not often you fall off."

"I lost my stirrup and my balance," Diana answered.

"Ah. Just like the last time." She smiled softly and asked, "Are you ready to go back? I'm sure Garson will miss you."

Diana answered, "Yes, I'm sure." She patted Garson's neck as she continued to untack the saddle, saying, "And you'll enjoy our next ride even more by then."

Garson continued to chew his grain.

Diana turned towards the maid. "Anna?"

"Yes, Diana?" the woman responded.

"Will my aunt be back?"

Anna pursed her lips, her gentle, rare smile fading away. "I'm sure... Don't worry, Diana. I will keep you informed. Just get your education, dear. Your parents would be so proud if they saw you now."

"Thank-you," Diana murmured. Once all of the tack was pulled off of Garson, she shut the stall door behind her. "I will put everything away then pack my things. I plan on leaving by noon."

"Alright, miss. And I will sort your room, then."

Diana gave a brief smile. "Don't worry about that. I'll go and do it myself."

"If you must, I'll leave you to it," Anna replied with a smile of her own.

**. . .**

She inhaled the spring air with a grin. London, unsurprisingly, had dirty air compared to her hometown and Akko was worried that Luna Nova would be the same. Nope. Gladly, she took in more, her lungs happily feeling clean; Blytonbury was the same as her town, aside from being not as humid and thousands of miles away (of course). "Alright!" she said to herself, pulling out the pamphlet in her back pocket. "I'm finally here!" She also took out her Shiny Chariot card gleefully. "I'm gonna be like you, just you wait!" Akko promised.

"Just...where's the bus station for Luna Nova?" Atsuko looked both left and right of the street, finding no such thing. Locals, however, were found. She huffed, shouldered her handbag and rolled her suitcase behind her. Akko confidently strolled towards a woman coming out of a coffee shop. "Nice day isn't it? Do you—" She paused as the woman avoided her gaze, brushing passed her. "I..." So this town was cold. Akko grumbled to herself; _her_ town was nicer, at least. People were polite.

Then again, they were also nervous whenever somebody who was obviously _not_ Japanese. _Yes, that's it. Everybody here is European and I'm an outsider. Understandable._ She nodded her head once and continued forth. Not towards that woman, though. Akko knew that wouldn't go smoothly. "Hey, sir?" she asked a man as he walked to his car. He shifted his glasses and gave her some attention. "Do you know where the bus stop to Luna Nova is?"

A strange expression crossed his features. It wasn't malicious or threatening, by any means, though he certainly didn't take her question kindly. Even so, he answered, "I don't know much about witches to begin with."

"Oh. Well thanks anyway!" she replied. The man nodded gruffly and quickly slipped into his car.

Her next attempt: three women on their lunch to catch up on things. "Do you know where the bus stop for Luna Nova is?" Akko, now getting somewhat desperate by this point (even if third time is a charm), she brandished her card. "I'm going to be just like Shiny Chariot!"

"Oh," one of the women, a blonde, replied. "At least you're not one of _those_ witches, are you?"

"Huh?"

"We don't know how to get to that place," another woman said, her tone clipped. 

Akko took the hint. "Well...thanks." She strode quickly away, muttering in Japanese, _"What is wrong with those women? I was just asking a question! And what witches are they talking about anyway?!"_ Once at the end of the road, she sighed and gathered her nerves. It would be no use blowing up on people, especially since Akko was _so_ close to finding Luna Nova. She could just feel it!

She glanced briefly to her side. With a rush of realization, she snapped her attention towards two boys at a playground, toying with a DS. Akko walked to them and immediately got their attention. "Hey, do you know where the bus stop is for Luna Nova?"

One of the boys arched a brow. "There's never been a bus station here," he said.

 _Oh..._ "Thank-you for answering," she replied. The boy nodded then went back to his game. She rolled her suitcase away towards a bench then sat down on it with a huff. Akko read through the pamphlet again, awfully discouraged. "No bus stop, huh? Was this all a waste of time...?" She sighed and then hissed, "Why are these directions so confusing anyway? And why does it have this stupid tower—"

Akko caught sight of a large tower on a hill, overgrown with vegetation. She studied the pamphlet, then looked at the tower. "Oh," she mumbled simply. _The pamphlet literally had a picture of the thing. Dammit Akko._

With her confidence back, she abruptly stood up and gathered her things. "I found it!" she cheered. Akko raced down the street towards the tower, keeping her eyes on it (well, until she heard a car and avoided swerving off the sidewalk).

But maybe she should've avoided crashing into someone.

After landing on her hind, Akko rushed, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—" On the ground, she noticed her pamphlet laying on top of another, identical one. "Hey!" She got to her feet and watched a girl, who she assumed was a witch, pat her broom and collect her things. Atsuko handed her a pamphlet. "You're going to Luna Nova too?"

The girl paused. She was plain like her clothes; pale complexion with a straight nose and expressionless features. Her grey hair, tinted with a dull violet, hung straight, hiding half her face. Akko noted its volume as the witch's hair curled at the ends. She also noted that the one eye she saw was far from plain, instead a deep, rich brown flecked with fire.

"I am!" Akko continued. "I'm not really sure how good I am at magic exactly, but if going to Luna Nova means I'll be like Shiny Chariot, then I'm sure I'll get better!" Excitedly, she presented her favorite Shiny Chariot card. "See this? I've been collecting them for years! Right now it's all I have to remind me what I want to do, except for this one poster and—" Some of her things were still scattered across the street, one of witch a stuffed bird resembling the white—eagle? Vulture? She really didn't know—bird sided with Shiny Chariot at her shows. "And that! I've had him for years."

The girl, silent, uncorked a bottle that she had in her pocket and allowed a drop to spill onto the stuffed toy. "Oh? Is that...?" The bird shivered to life and hopped around. "Is that puppet magic? I've never seen it up close before!" Akko bent down and watched her favorite toy stumble towards her. "That's so coo— _ACK!_ It got my eye!" 

She hissed and clutched her left eye where the bird pecked it. "That's not nice!" she said as the witch began to walk away, the stuffed bird pecking at her feet. Nevertheless, Atsuko hurried to follow her and jogged forward with her luggage at hand, the bird on her head. "But have you heard of Shiny Chariot? Oh," she continued as they made their way across a small bridge crossing a river, "and I'm Atsuko Kagari, by the way, but call me Akko. It—"

Suddenly the girl halted and turned around. Still impassive, she stretched out her hand. Akko blinked, then smiled and shook it with both hands, saying, "Nice to meet you! Will we go to Luna— _FUCKING!_ " She screamed as snakes twisted around her wrists. Akko stumbled backwards and fell over the edge of the bridge. Gasping, she swam to the surface, now sour; she could of sworn the witch smirked.

Atsuko raised her hands where the snakes were, finding old pieces of rope. Even so, it was still a cool magic trick. She huffed and looked up to the cloth bird on her head. "I don't think she meets very many people."

The bird pecked her forehead lightly in agreement.

Akko heaved herself out of the water and went around to the bridge, collecting her suitcase. Luckily that hadn't fallen with her, unlike her big bag and small backpack. With sopping steps she continued forth, following the path towards the bus stop. "Who does she think she is? I was being nice to her!" Akko ranted to herself. First the town and then a witch. Maybe _she_ was the type of witch those women were talking about.

A tug at her gut told her otherwise.

Atsuko continued with her tirade. She hoped Luna Nova would be more welcoming. Not that being _unwelcomed_ would stop her from chasing her dream, though it would certainly make it harder. On another hand, however, it could be a potential challenge; Akko would prove her worth and silence all those who ignored, taunted or fought her with her own toy and rope-snakes.

Yes. Absolutely.

As she neared the bus stop, Akko grinned. There were three more witches with their brooms in— "Is that Luna Nova uniforms? Maybe they'll help me," Akko said.

"Did you hear they're actually letting in someone who's not even from a witch's family?" one witch asked, playing with her raven hair before tossing it to the side.

"You're kidding! They're actually letting in commoners now! I thought that was a rumor!"

Akko slowed to a halt. Another girl shook her head. "No. I heard it's because the school has been losing money and are getting desperate."

"I bet she can't even ride a broom."

_Well...maybe they won't help then—_

"Hey, who're you?" Atsuko froze, turning back around. 

"O-oh... I'm Atsuko Kagari."

One of the girls, with raven hair, sighed. "Oh. You're the one. _Do_ you know how to ride a broom?"

"Ah...not exactly. But I've practiced!" Akko assured.

"Uh huh..."

Akko teetered at her feet, looking around to avoid their stares. "So...that bus is taking a while, am I right?" she asked, weakly.

They snorted in unison before laughter brought red to Akko's cheeks. " _Bus?_ You're kidding! Witches don't need buses!"

"Tia freyre!" they chanted, their brooms charged with magical energy.

Akko grew silent as they pointed the ends of their brooms to her chest. "This is a ley-line, got that?"

"It's common knowledge, you see."

"All witches know how to use brooms. It's the easiest thing to do for us!"

" _Well_ ," chortled the girl with raven hair, "maybe not for a moron like you."

Another girl with short hair and hair clips added, "If you can't fly, you won't get to the ceremony!"

They all hopped on their brooms and hovered in the air. "And you'll get kicked out if you don't go!"

Together, the witches then casually flew into the tower, explaining, "This is the magical highway!"

"We don't need buses."

"They're _so_ primitive."

Bouts of giggles erupted as they zoomed up towards the top of the tower, and Akko trotted inside. They were gone, vanished behind a bright, green light. _A...ley-line? That does make more sense than buses,_ Akko internally admitted. She may not have a broom, but surely she could just climb up and reach it, right? Atsuko glanced at her suitcase left outside. _...but with the suitcase?_

She frowned with determination. There was always a way. Not obvious every time, but there always was a way.

Once rolling her suitcase inside the tower—the shade was nice, even though the day was cool enough—Akko opened it and stuffed her small backpack inside. She looked at the bird and asked, "Are you going to stick with me or cause trouble?" He fluttered his wings. She took that as a gesture of not-going-to-peck-her-eye-again. She then zipped up the suitcase and pulled out two old sweaters from her large bag. Akko then meticulously tied the sleeves to the handles and then slid her arms through the make-shift straps.

Akko grunted lightly, getting used to the weight. She was now grateful for her father's constant efforts to put her in sports and other physically-numbing tasks; riding the bicycle up the incline was his idea, after all. And the suitcase was light compared to the heavy bags of rice he had her carry (up the same incline) whenever they ran completely out. _"You will be a great strong woman if you are not a witch!"_ he would always say. Akko would grumble though obey, and now look at her.

Climbing a brick wall, relying on the roots of whatever was growing at the top, with a hefty suitcase on her back and a large back slung over that.

Her choice of roots, though, proved to be an issue. Akko grabbed onto a weaker, older root as leverage, only to fall meters down. On impact, she groaned and stared up at the ley-line. Whether it be from the mild pain or fact that she wouldn't be able to make it to the ceremony on time, her eyes watered. Akko wiped her eyes.

At the sound of a trip, items tumbling and someone whining, she felt there was _some_ hope left. Atsuko craned her neck backwards and saw a witch hurriedly picking up her things. "Why did Mom pack so many things? I don't need all this stuff! I'm— Gah! I'm going to be late!"

Akko was by her side immediately, holding some trinket in her hand. The witch looked up at her, adjusting her hat with a red band. Her ginger hair curled around her glasses and hat, doll-blue eyes blinking in surprise. "Oh, why thank-you," she said, packing the small trinket. In a rush, she started forward, halting in the tower beside Akko's luggage. She cleared her throat and said, "Tia fre—"

The witch stared at Akko who hovered by the entrance awkwardly. She gulped. "Erm...aren't you going too?"

Akko nodded. "I don't have a broom," she said, quietly, "and I don't think I know how to ride one."

"O-oh. You're new, aren't you? I haven't seen you around before." Akko nodded again. "Well...I'm Lotte..."

"Atsuko Kagari but...call me Akko."

"Okay, Akko. ...do you need a ride?"

"Yeah! Thanks!" Akko exclaimed, hurriedly gathering her luggage.

The girl, Lotte, smiled politely. As she situated everything on the broom, she asked, "What's your accent? I've never really heard anything like it before."

"Oh." Akko paused, somewhat bashful. "Well, I'm Japanese but my uncle taught me how to speak English, and he travels internationally but he's Dutch."

"That's interesting. Do you speak Dutch too?"

Akko shook her head. "No. I should have learned though, but I really only learned English so I could come to Luna Nova," she said. "But a lot of his accent carried over, I guess."

Lotte nodded and they both were on the broom. "Yeah. I can kind of hear it now you've said it. I honestly didn't know what it was," she replied. "Not American and not English, or Finnish." She then complimented, "You have a really interesting accent, though. It's not terrible like some others."

Atsuko laughed once and said, "Thanks."

"Tia freyre!" Lotte incanted, sending the broom up a meter. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as you are..." Akko's grip around Lotte's waist tightened as the broom pointed upwards, abruptly sending them off. She yelped in surprise at the sheer force of the wind before becoming enamored by the array of light spiraling as a tube. "I-Is this a ley-line?!" she asked, voice raised.

"Yeah!" Lotte answered. The broom tossed and jerked. She grunted and said, "Hold on, there seems to be some turbulence!" A sensation grew inside Akko's chest, warm and fuzzy. Though once the ley-line flashed with light, it quickly became cold and sharp. She groaned and held Lotte tighter. The ginger, who was blinking at the sudden flash, took notice. "Are you okay?!"

"Fine! Just...just keep going!"

The broom bucked.

"Hey, do you have any salts?!"

"What?!"

"Salts! Ley-lines don't like anything like that! It throws off the energy and magnetic field!"

Akko, her chest now searing painfully upon another crackle of light, winced and pulled out a small container. "Like this?!"

"What is that?!"

"Pickled plums!" Akko answered proudly. "They're good for your skin!"

"Toss it!"

" _What?_ "

"Just— Just toss it!" Atsuko did so, with hesitance.

Once the pickled plums were tossed away, Lotte grunted and the broom teetered to the side. "Gah! We're falling off the ley-line! Do you have anything else?!" Akko groaned, her head suddenly swimming and her vision blurred. She felt like everything was being sapped from her being as they began to cross the edge. "Akko, Do you have anything else?! We're already drifting too far off course and I'm going to start using the magic reserves on my broom!"

"I—" Words left her as she felt her energy drain; was she coming down with a fever? What was happening?

Lotte screamed as the ley-line shoved them out, the broom's path barely clinging onto the sidelines. As the ginger tried to navigate the best she could towards the ley-line, she noticed that the magic reserves on her broom didn't suffer; this was despite several witches in the past (including her mother) telling her the edge of the ley-line was the most dangerous as magic is often completely zapped—an odd phenomenon to say the least, but one that may be false after all... "Akko, I-I'll try to guide us towards— Akko?" The grip around her waist was slipping. "Akko! Hang on, I'll—"

Too late.

While Akko's slumped body managed to wrench them back into the ley-line, she completely let go of the broom. Lotte bellowed her name once again, and realization hit her like an anvil: Atsuko was out cold. She didn't even flail through the ley-line, smacking right into a witch previously reading a book. "Akko!" Lotte screamed, leaning just too far off her broom handle.

All three witches were tossed out of the ley-line, dewy wind scratching their skin as they plummeted.

Akko groaned, blinking. She watched as her hands reached for the clouds growing further and further away, but what was she to do? Her body willed for her to rest, and so she did, allowing herself to be taken away by gravity, deaf to the startled cries of two other witches above.

**. . .**

Luna Nova.

It was the second semester and Diana still felt the anxious excitement of setting foot on the grounds again. She stood away from the entrance where all the professors and students were funneling inside, watching. Despite the waves and brief greetings from the witches that did pass close to her, Diana found that she was isolated. It was no secret that everybody admired her—the staff included. Almost to the point she didn't _need_ to prove herself. Yet proving herself was what her mother taught her, and her father, and Anna once they...

Crestfallen, Diana sighed and watched the grass for a moment. _Cavendish_. That name already paved the way for her success, nothing else besides her talent. At least she had that going for her.

_"I wouldn't expect anything less from a Cavendish!"_

_"Oh, such raw talent from a respectable family! Not a surprise!"_

_"Wow, Diana, you're so smart! You're even better at magic than the teachers!"_

She frowned and tightened her lips. There was one comment that she was given, one that she kept close to heart: _"Such a polite and humble girl..."_ It wasn't to her face even. Diana held her wand and extended it. She gazed at the instrument, vaguely recalling the days of her vanished abilities. Absentmindedly, she twirled her wand and flowers bloomed at her feet. For such a simple comment, it carried its weight, especially since it dated back to the time where she could only _dream_ of flowers blooming at her whim.

Diana sighed and slipped her wand back to her blue sash wrapped around her hips. She heard there was a few new students coming to Luna Nova—even one from a non-witch family. Diana hoped that whatever talent would be brought to the school would be enough to stand against her own. She wanted a fair competition. When's the last time she'd ever felt her heart pound out of anticipation, wondering just who would be the victor?

Never because nobody ever played with her as a child. And now that _everybody_ wants to play with her, she outmatches them all—enough to the point Diana couldn't even deny it.

"There you are, Diana!"

She turned around finding her two other team members, both of witch she considered to be friends. Or at least, people who never left her side. Hannah England smiled, fixing her tall hat over her auburn hair whilst Barbara Parker grinned and said, "We've been looking all over for you. We got something to tell you!"

Diana arched a brow. "And what's that?"

Both snickered. "We met the first-generation witch, if you'd even call her that."

"Yeah. She was looking for the ley-line and asked where the bus stop was," Barbara chortled. "Can you believe that?"

"I wouldn't be surprised... If she's first-generation, she wouldn't know,"

Hannah nodded slowly. "I _guess_ , but still. You can't expect witches to use buses, now can you?" Diana remained quiet as they continued to laugh to themselves. Her hopes of any true competition dropped; if this was true, maybe she wouldn't find someone that could par with her abilities. It was too much to ask for, she supposed. "And she's like Chinese or something."

"Maybe Japanese?"

"Yeah. I don't know. At least she speaks English well so we don't have to deal with another confusing accent," Hannah said. 

"At least there's that."

Diana walked forward and said, "Whatever the case, we must go and find our seats at the ceremony. Come on." The two witches nodded and followed suit, flanking her sides. _Japanese, huh? At least she will be interesting..._ Diana thought. After all, when had she'd ever seen an eastern Asian witch come to Luna Nova? _At least there'll be some change of pace._

Yes. At the very least.

Luna Nova was just as pristine as it was on the inside as it was on the outside. The air, however, was warmer than the brisk air Diana just escaped. "Oh! Miss Cavendish, it's nice to see you again," an older witch said with a smile, standing by the tall, grand doors.

"Thank-you, Professor Badcock. I'm glad to be back for another semester," Diana replied. Curiously, she added, "Is it true there's a first-generation witch here?"

Professor Badcock nodded slowly. "Though, I don't think she's come yet—"

"Probably took a bus..." Hannah whispered.

"—so perhaps not. If she does, it'll be interesting to see how she fairs with this school. I do wonder if she has any of the capabilities to back her up. It takes a lot for someone to come here, you know," she continued, oblivious to Barbara and Hannah's chuckling.

Diana wasn't, but she ignored it all the same. "Yes, I do wonder. And coming in second semester of our term, as well..."

"That is true. Anyway— Yes Ursula?" The older witch blinked with mild irritation.

A young woman paused and glanced at the four bashfully. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I bump into you?" she asked, flustered.

"It's quite alright. Just...where are you going? The ceremony is the other way," the professor said.

Ursula fixed her glasses and her blue hair, spending a quick look towards the students. Politely, Diana greeted, "Good afternoon, Professor Callistis."

The young professor smiled gently. "And to you too, Diana. Now, I do apologize. I just need to quickly run back to my office. I have...a feeling."

"What about?"

Ursula shrugged. "I don't frankly know. Something with the ley-line, there's a sort of disturbance."

At that, the older witch—whose blue hair was far brighter than Ursula's—raised her eyebrows. "Of what sort?"

"Not major, but...there's certainly something strange going on..." She frowned and Diana barely saw how her fiery eyes churned, a blood red surging within them.

Diana was intrigued, outrageously curious. If anything happened to the ley-line, it was a bad omen. But she wondered... _Bus stop...she wouldn't know about ley-lines. Could it be...?_ "Something about the new student?"

"Maybe," Ursula murmured, "but that's not... There's something else and I can't quite put my finger on it." She jerked and apologized again: "I'm sorry. You all go head to the ceremony. I'll overlook this small matter myself."

"Okay," Barbara said. The students broke away, leaving Barbara to say aloud, "Watch she brought some salts or something _obvious_ like that."

Hannah chortled. "Yeah. Or she tried going to the side."

"Either way, it wouldn't be funny," Diana grumbled shortly. Both witches snapped their jaws shut. "If anything happened she'd fall. I hope nothing like that would be true, even if she isn't a good witch." Hannah and Barbara remained silent. "Come on," she added quietly, "let's just get to our seats."

**. . .**

Upon blinking herself awake, Atsuko groaned, weakly blocking the sun from her eyes. Confused, she stared at the two faces huddled above her, one expressionless and the other concerned. "Looks like she's up," the witch from before muttered. "See? I told you she wasn't dead."

"But she might be hurt," Lotte retorted. She glanced back down at Akko, who sat up and rubbed her temple. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah? Where are we?"

Lotte sighed and looked around. "Not at Luna Nova, that's for sure." Yes, she was right. Akko furrowed her brows and studied the environment around her. Nothing was like the pamphlet. Instead of a grand castle and luscious grass there were rotting trees and moldy dirt. Slowly, after she was certain nothing was broken—though perhaps scratched and bruised—Akko got to her feet. At her slight wobble, Lotte asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Akko nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure... What happened?"

"Well, the pickled plums was rejected by the ley-line, so we got rid of them...then I think I lost my balance and we teetered to the side."

"You mean you guys actually went off the ley-line?" the other witch asked, frowning. Lotte nodded. "And...nothing happened to your magic supply?"

"No...? We were— Well, _I_ was fine but Akko, you fell off the broom."

Atsuko bobbed her head and scratched the back of her neck. "I do kind of remember blacking out. I can't remember anything after we slipped away from the center."

"You guys actually got out of the ley-line?!"

"You mean you don't remember anything? What happened, do you get air-sick or something?"

Akko shook her head as the other witch silently fumed over not getting her answer. "No. I'm actually really good with motion sickness. I've never really gotten it before. Well, unless I spin around a bunch of times."

"Hey!" Lotte and Akko blitzed around, facing the other witch. She sighed and asked, "You two went out of the ley-line and managed to keep enough magic to get back in?"

"Yeah. I really don't know what happened," Lotte answered.

"That _can't_ happen. Ley-lines have a shield, almost, keeping everything concentrated so we can use it. It soaks up and blocks all other magic to prevent it from interfering," she explained. "Magic reserves or not, you two should've dropped regardless."

"Oh." So that phenomenon wasn't just a hoax. "But then why...?

Akko sighed and shook her head. "It doesn't matter now, does it? We have to get to the ceremony, right? Otherwise we won't be accepted at Luna Nova!" She took another look around. "But where _are_ we?"

As they began to wonder around, following the witch-from-before, she answered. "Arcturus forest."

"Arcturus..." Lotte's eyes widened. "You mean the forbidden forest?!"

"What? Never heard of it," Akko said.

"Well, it's said whoever comes in never gets out, even a witch!" Lotte replied. "I don't know exactly where we are, but Luna Nova's in the center of it... But it's so huge, we might never make it! Especially with this!" She raised the remains of her broom, holding only the handle attached to a lit skull-lantern.

Atsuko asked, "Did you loose anything else?"

Lotte shook her head. "I mean, some of the souvenirs but the important stuff no." Akko halted and her heart stopped for a moment. "Hey, are you—"

"Where is it? Do I have it? Where is _it?!_ " Akko began frantically searching her pockets as Lotte stopped with her suitcase beside her. She dove to the side of Lotte and scrambled through her backpack stashed within the heavy luggage. She sighed in relief. "Oh thank _God_. It's here." Shiny Chariot's card was safe. "Sorry," she mumbled, zipping up the suitcase, "I just got worried. And thanks for carrying my stuff."

"No problem. What was it anyway?"

"A Shiny Chariot card," the witch-from-before answered, kneeling on the ground. She continued to study the indentation in the soggy dirt before adding, "She's obsessed."

"I'm not— Okay, maybe I am but Shiny Chariot is the best witch I've ever seen!" Akko stated proudly, holding up the card. "And if you don't think so, then you...you..." She watched as the witch-from-before paced around Lotte and Akko, feeding a long rope in a circle around them. "What are you doing?"

The witch-from-before didn't answer. Instead, she stopped and took out another bottle. "Juris haras haras," she murmured, spilling a drop. Immediately the rope came to life, and for a second Atsuko was nervous that they'd turn into large, terrifying snake. Instead it conformed into a tight, sturdy ball.

Lotte tapped the side of the sphere. "Will this help us get out of here?" she asked.

There was a shrug as an answer. "Just say this spell: 'Katchur katela hurala.'"

Akko nodded. "Katchur katelala hura...ra...ra?"

"No!" The witch-from-before groaned. "'Katchur katela hurala!' And loud too! Use your diaphragm!"

Dutifully, she inhaled. "KATCHUR KATELA HURALA!" Akko's voice echoed throughout the forest, the trees bristling against the breeze. She saw nothing, but most definitely feel something stir within the ground. She knew Lotte felt it too by her curious stare whipping her head around. 

Abruptly, their was a loud cluck from behind them. Both Lotte and Akko turned around, then jumped as a giant rooster's head peered down at them, it's dragon-or-snake tail whipping angrily. It must have been at _least_ twenty meters.

"Uh...hi big guy..." Akko leaned backward towards the witch-from-before and asked, "So...what was that spell again?"

The girl was on her broom and answered, "You called it a stupid bird. So now it wants to eat you."

"W- _What?!_ "

"It's a cockatrice, and it only exists in the forest of Arcturus. I hear its feathers are really toxic!" she answered, oddly infatuated towards the end. "And by the way," she adds with a yell, "don't let it breathe on you, okay?! Say the spell one more time so I can get one!"

"Y-YOU TRAPPED US IN HERE TO BE DECOYS?!" Akko shouted.

"Sacrifices!"

Akko grumbled sourly to herself before the cockatrice screeched. "Come on Lotte!" she yelped, scrambling with the rope-sphere. With both of their efforts, the ball rolled, the suitcase and bags flailing. It didn't stop them. They continued to clamber furiously, rolling the ball through the forest. The ground shook and the ball jumped as the cockatrice stormed after them.

It screamed once again, announcing the witch-from-before's success in snagging a feather. With the cockatrice distracted, the girl dodging its fuming breaths, Akko noticed the trees that shouldered the curse once its steamy breaths and turned to stone. _She could have told us!_ Akko internally raged.

Neither stopped racing across the forest, careening down a slope. It's not like they _could_ even if they wanted to (they did want to). Akko's thoughts ravaged, searching for any possible solution as Lotte tripped and was flattened against the surface of the ball. "Are you okay?!"

"I—am—fine—just—diz—zy—" Lotte admitted with every turn. "O—oh—my—y—go—od—" Lotte grunted, attempting to get up.

"It'd be best if you just stayed like that!"

"Bu—ut—the—sui—uit—ca—ase—es—"

"I-I'll find a way to stop! I swear!" Atsuko kept running, finding a perfect line of bushes that'd cushion their fall. As she charged forward, however, the strange feeling engulfed her chest again. As she drew closer with Lotte still spinning, it became more demanding, tugging her to the side. Akko couldn't help herself. She slammed the ball towards the right—much to Lotte's displeasure—and steered it forward. 

Something was here.

Akko knew it.

It was calling for her.

There was a pile of rocks in the middle of a small clearing, something poking out in the middle. It snagged the rope-ball and threw them forward. Everything snapped and cracked. Akko and Lotte lunged forward, whacking into several branches that weren't enough to brace them for the long drop ahead. Without a thought, as Akko slammed into a thick tree branch, she snatched Lotte's arm tightly. Lotte gasped, her body dangling from Akko's strong grip, her eyes glued down the cliff.

Akko grunted as she pulled Lotte safely up, resting against the jutted earth beside the branches and roots of the old trees around them. "You are _really_ strong," Lotte wheezed. She looked green (as one would be after spiraling out-of-control for a solid few minutes).

"Thanks," Akko replied, rubbing her chest. The sensation was still there. It wasn't sharp— _warning_ —like it had been in the ley-line, though it was just as telling. "Come on, let's go."

"Okay," Lotte said weakly. Atsuko knew she needed to throw something up. As the ginger shifted, she winced and clutched her knee. "Ow, ow... _ow_ , my knee." Akko saw a disgustingly-colored wound coating Lotte's freckled skin. She whimpered. "I'm not going to be able to make it..."

"No! Come on!" Akko said, hoisting Lotte up. "We'll get out together! And it looks like it's just a bruise. As long as it doesn't swell, it probably means it's not as bad." Lotte nodded as they stumbled onto the grass. Once Atsuko was able to see the rocks and weird stick in the clearing, her eyes widened. "Hey, that's— That's the Shiny Rod!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

As quickly as they could manage, without hurting Lotte too much, they made their way towards the staff. The seven gems embedded within glinted and shone, almost winking at Akko. The sensation in her chest heightened, and Akko somehow knew that it would relax once she grabbed it. She tore it from the rocks with a wide smile. "Do you know what this means?!"

"W...what?"

Akko brandished it to the sky. "This means it _is_ destiny! I will become a witch just like Shiny Chariot! And— Wait, why is the Shiny Rod here though?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should get—" Something darted across the sky quickly. "Huh?"

They turned around as the witch-from-before hovered behind them before setting foot on the ground. "So...you're not dead then."

"Yeah! No thanks to you!" Akko retorted. Their was a terrifying screech and she blitzed around. "It's still trying to chase us?!" she asked as the rooster head popped out from above the trees. The witch-from-before shrugged, holding a feather. "Oh... Lotte, you go with her!"

"But—"

"Just go! Don't worry about me!" Akko said. Before either could interject, she bolted forward, her legs carrying her through the trees. It reminded her of the races she won during her school championships. They didn't mean anything then. Just another medal to hang on her wall.

But now, her speed and acceleration were _everything_. The cockatrice stormed behind her, snapping and hissing and breathing wildly. Either that witch pulled a rather sensitive feather, or the cockatrice was still mad at being called stupid. Akko jerked around a few trees, slowing the cockatrice down by a few steps. Though, it wasn't enough.

"Hey! Up here!"

Atsuko looked up. There, the witch-from-before and Lotte rode on a broom, faster than she could run. Not by a lot, but maybe _t_ _hat_ was be enough. As they lowered the broom and Lotte reached out her hand, Akko hurled herself up. The broom teetered to the right before straightening itself, going much slower than before. "T-thanks...?"

"No problem," the witch-from-before said. "Oh, and it's Sucy. Sucy Manbavaran."

"Nice to finally meet you Sucy."

Sucy chortled, though her devilish grin was wiped clean off at the angry cluck behind them. Anxiously, the girls stared over their shoulders, the cockatrice taking flight. "That thing won't just quit will it?" Lotte asked.

It blew streaking flames throughout the air, reaching the end of the broom. "Ow!" Akko snapped, patting the small flame off her butt. "It breathes fire too?!"

"We're not going to get far, will we?!"

"No!" Akko hissed. "We will! I'll make sure of it!" The Shiny Rod twinkled in her hands, and she blinked. As she stared at the first gem, the sensation was back, now crawling along her entire form. It was almost, wordlessly, telling her something, whispering something important.

"Akko! You better do something quickly or the broom will fry!" Sucy snapped.

"Yeah, Akko! I can't think of anything!" Lotte said, worried.

Atsuko paid no mind. Instead, she listened to the sensation carefully, holding the Shiny Rod to her chest. She closed her eyes, succumbing to her trance. "Noctu orfie aude..." Her eyes flew open and she yelled, "Fraetore!"

The Shiny Rod sang to life as the ruptured broom suffered another wave of fire, flying over another sloped area. "Akko!" the witches screamed, the broom disintegrated below them. There was nothing to worry about, not as the Shiny Rod transformed in Akko's hands to a powerful bow. As an arrow gradually appeared in her hand, Akko pulled back and shot it forward towards the trees they were falling to.

Sucy and Lotte braced for impact, dreading the bouts of pain to come. But no.

They opened their eyes as the cockatrice's fuming calls died away, finding vibrant colors of energy swarming around them. Akko giggled as they continued racing down the ley-line, and the two witches at her side gazed at her in awe.

With a shared look at one another, Sucy and Lotte confirmed that Akko was certainly _not_ an ordinary witch. Let alone an ordinary girl.

**. . .**

Everything was uniform in the ceremony hall, all students wearing their long dresses and hats, adorned with their team bands. Nothing was out of place. Even Professor Ursula who had come in discreetly, sitting in her designated seat. Diana sat, eagerly listening as Headmistress Holbrook continued with her introductory speech: "And well, now that's been said, let's go ahead and get start—" With a sudden _bang!_ the auditorium shook, unnatural smoke curdling towards the ceiling. Uniformity was quickly thrown out the window. Diana froze as other witches gasped around her, eyes narrowed at the light of a—

 _Is that...a ley-line?_ she thought, watching the smoke. Her suspicion was confirmed once three witches fell out of the ley-line and tumbled onto the floor. The whole room, unsurprisingly, was deathly silent. As two witches clambered to their feet, the one other one was able to hop up, in her hands something like a short staff.

The third witch looked around the room, her grin widening. From where she sat, Diana assumed it was the first-generation witch. She frowned. No dress or sash, just a shirt and shorts that were too improper. At the very least, her smile was not repulsive, nor her eyes glinting with excitement. Diana didn't even know how'd she come to that conclusion sitting rows and rows above her. "I MADE IT!" she yelled, raising her arms victoriously. Diana clenched her jaw. She was loud though. Would she be like that all the time? Diana could only wonder. Her opinion on her smile and eyes were tossed to the side, unsurprisingly. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YES!"

Diana grimaced. _God. She cannot be serious, is she?_ She remained silent even with her disapproving thoughts, while the others around her instead whispered accusingly. Headmistress Holbrooke continued to stare from the podium, apparently still in a state of shock.

Diana could only hope that this _nonsense_ wouldn't actually be enrolled in her class. _Is this really the new first-generation student?_ she thought, finding herself sorely disappointed.

**. . .**

"And you better wish that your behavior here on out will not get you expelled. Headmistress was quite gracious with you for your floundering act, even despite your lack of uniform," a strict woman—Professor Anne Finnelan—lectured as she quidded Atsuko down the hall. "And it's already hard enough that you are a first-generation witch. You better have a proper studious attitude and wicked skill to offset this, do you understand?"

The woman halted and turned at her heel, to which Akko stumbled to a halt. She nodded politely, nearly bowing before she remembered this wasn't Japan. She was far, far from home. "Yes ma'am."

Professor Finnelan _humph_ -ed and asked, her voice dropping to a curt tone, "Speaking of, where are you from? Your name is certainly not English, let alone European."

"I-it's Japanese...I'm from a small town off of Akita," Akko clarified in a soft voice.

The witch nodded. "For your information, Miss Kagari, I don't believe we've had a student that's been from Japan. You are representing your country here with everything you do, do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

The professor then opened the door to a bland dorm, though not unoccupied; a pair of confused students sat at the long desk reaching across the wall, overlooked by the window. Akko was glad to see Lotte and Sucy. "You will make up a third of the red team, Miss Kagari. And there have been instructions to keep you three under tight supervision throughout these three years, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," Atsuko said. "And...uh..." Because she _had_ to try and mend something. "And thanks for showing me my room." Anne remained quiet for a moment, then huffed and shut the door behind her. Akko stood at the doorway, awkwardly. "Hey, sorry about the...supervision on you two."

"No worries," Lotte said with a small smile, "I already have the top bunk."

"And I have my own bed," Sucy added, with a grin of her own.

Atsuko chuckled and slowly fell onto her already-decided bed. She may be far, far from home, though perhaps it won't be _so_ bad.

_...right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but it tends to be a running theme for all my first chapters in stories. Ah well. 
> 
> As you can see, from both the summary and first chapter, for this story I am relying on canon events and such. Not just with the show, from the OVAs as well, but I will be mixing and mashing them. I don't think I will be doing a scene verbatim, whether it be paraphrased or have my own spin to it; I don't know why, but I've always loved trying to keep my fanfics canon as possible but working my ideas into them. Oh, and the main conflict won't be the show's, but it'll have the show's conflict, see? Cool? Cool... In the chapter titles, I will put stuff in brackets for those who want to see where the chapter's inspiration came from. (I'll put little key here for those who care.):
> 
> Key:  
> [Ep.#] = Episode # (These are for the ones that the plot largely coincides with the episode(s)...yes, I do plan on mashing some of them. But there are others where I won't use them at all. And I will be mashing the OVAs with the episodes as well)  
> [OVA] = 2013 Short Film/Movie  
> [EP] = Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade
> 
> Maybe this will be a difficult task since I'm trying to make it so the quotes I use aren't obvious. XD
> 
> Anyway, I don't know how long this will be. I have a basic understanding of where I want it to go and where it'll end, but so far I have 17-ish chapters planned out and...yeah, there'll be a lot more than that. Especially since the 17-ish chapters just cover up until the Samhain Festival (I even have some of the more predominant parts written even). And (maybe) I'll be going over three years in this story, so that should give you enough of a gage of how long this'll be. Also don't know how updating will look like. So for those who don't like following stories and want to binge it, well, there you go... I'm kinda shit at updating. XD
> 
> Okay. Essay done, I promise. ;) There's not going to be another A/N like this I swear. Nevertheless, I hope you do enjoy the story and did enjoy the chapter!  
> :)
> 
> Also, Diana's horse in the show was thiccy. Like damn, bro, you got boobies. XD Oh, and yes I do ride as well. Western and (newly) English. ;)


	2. Part I. Disappointed Witches [Ep. #2]

The wind raced through her hair, clipping her cheeks as she yelled the incantation. The arrow sliced through the air, birthing another ley-line. The colors. Oh, the colors Akko saw. They welcomed her. _You're a witch! You're a witch!_ they seemed to have chanted. 

And they did come to an end, plopping her with Lotte and Sucy in the middle of the auditorium. It was not consumed with infatuating streams of brilliant lights, but when she breathed in the air, it was clear. Like Akko actually made it. She was at Luna Nova!

Looking at the bottom of Lotte's bunk, sure, but she did it!

Akko sat up, stretching out the aches of yesterday's shenanigans. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. Sucy was already up, scheming away at her desk with potions and lab equipment laid out. _Lotte must still be asleep_ , she internally figured. She ran a hand through her hair. _That needs brushing._

"That's right!" Akko quickly hopped out of bed and reached underneath her mattress, shuffling around. "Ah hah, got it!" She pulled out the Shiny Rod in all its glory. The jewels nestled within the blood-red craters glinted. The crown that it dawned shined. The long creamy-colored staff was pleasant to the eyes. "It wasn't a dream! I actually have the Shiny Rod!" Akko's eyes went wide. "I actually used the Shiny Arc!"

Groggily, Lotte sat up in her bed and looked down. "Morning Lotte! See what I have?"

As she situated her glasses on her nose, Lotte replied, "That's the Shiny Rod, right?"

"Yup!" Akko squealed, promptly spooking Lotte.

"Like you haven't told us a hundred times," Sucy murmured.

Akko didn't pay any attention to her grumbling. "And this belongs to," she said, excitedly, "Shiny Chariot! And when I meet her, I'm going to have to give it back. I don't know why it was in the forest like that. It doesn't seem like the place for Shiny Chariot." She smiled. "But when I hold this, I feel like I can do anything!" Akko stated, holding it up in the air. With a quirk of a smile, she pointed the Shiny Rod to the mattress. "Fly bed!" Nothing. "Come on, fly!"

She scowled. Maybe it was too big. "Fly shoes!"

As Akko continued to whip the wand about, Lotte watched Sucy curiously. "What are you doing, Sucy?"

"Move Alcor! _Dammit._ Come on, I command you to move!"

"I'm trying to extract the poison from these feathers," Sucy answered.

"Move! Move, move, _move!_ "

"Did you only come here to add the poison to your collection?"

"Hey pillow!"

Sucy shook her head. "My original plan was to leave after, but I heard that Luna Nova has rare species of mushrooms. So I'll be staying longer." She put an oxygen mask over her face as she dropped the poison with a spider that had been running around in a beaker. It seized and tossed itself against the glass before solidifying into a hard crystal. Sucy chuckled.

Lotte winced.

"Fly! Move! Do _something!_ " Akko commanded. She frowned and quit her antics. "I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? It was working yesterday."

Lotte stepped down from her bunk. "Come on and get dressed. We'll be late to class at this rate."

Akko's disappointment quickly left her. A grin stretched wide. "Alright!" She hurriedly began to change, brushing her hair out and putting it up, then shuffled through her small drawer. Lotte chuckled to herself at Akko's excitement. Once Akko finished her outfit with her hat, clad with a red ribbon, she said, "I'm all ready!"

"Well, no. That uniform's for ceremonies and training. This one—" she gestured towards her uniform: navy blue skirt with a red, thinly clothed scarf, a buttoned vest in the same color, black cross-tie, white buttoned shirt and long white socks accompanied by simple, brown dress shoes—"is for classes."

Akko looked at her stylish, witchy dress and hat. "But that one's so boring." Lotte shrugged.

As Akko began to change (once again), Lotte said as she gathered her books, "Our classes are magic linguistics, magic pharmaceutics then magic numerology... Oh! _And_ magic history before lunch, I forgot our periods changed."

Sucy finished her uniform by tightening her tie. "Oh is that all?"

"And afterwards we have two more classes: astrology and then there's periods for labs or physicals. When the schedule is normal, they switch between labs and physicals. Astrology starts tomorrow, and we switch every other day with our morning classes, so we should only have one class tomorrow and Thursday," Lotte explained. "The first week is nice like that. Oh, and then we'll need to pick our electives that'll start next month."

"Looks like you'll be helping me and Akko around," she said. Once glancing at Akko, Sucy's visible eye widened. "Hey, isn't that a little short?"

Akko looked at her, confused. "What, my skirt?"

"Yeah...Akko, did you get the wrong length?" Lotte asked.

"No...? It's the same length that I had for my school in Japan."

Sucy chuckled to herself as Lotte said, "Well, it looks like it's five centimeters shorter than what's allowed. You can go longer though, like Sucy and me."

"Was your school a ho-school?" Sucy snorted, _her_ skirt going passed her knees.

Akko put her hands on her hips. " _No_ , it was actually really conservative."

" _Oh_ , is that right?"

"Yes! What's the problem with my legs?!"

Lotte, who was humored by the banter, answered, "Well, your skirt is revealing. Your legs are nice but not appropriate. I thought Japan was a bit more conservative with clothes."

Then it hit Akko. "Oh yeah, we are, but not really with legs." She chuckled to herself and said, "I forgot that Europeans fetishize _legs_."

"W- _what?_ " Lotte blubbered.

"I'm just saying. You'd have to catch me dead if you saw my shoulders," Akko said. 

Sucy sighed and clutched her books to her chest. "Come on, let's start heading to class." Both Akko and Lotte obliged, following Sucy out the door. They strode down the halls, walking to their first class. Somehow, along the way, Akko appeared to lead—and it bothered neither following her. Lotte took note of her confident stride, a bounce with each step. Sucy noticed her cheeky grin that made her want to gag, but people liked that more than nothing right? She really didn't know.

Atsuko analyzed her uniform, lips pursed. "Such a plain uniform," she sighed as a ruckus crashed behind her, a humiliated professor underneath a heap of books. "But I guess it will do. The sash for the wand really adds something to it, don't you think?"

Lotte nodded, her eyes drifting towards Akko's skirt. "That might be more than five centimeters too short now that I think about it..."

Akko pouted. "Quit going on about my skirt, would ya?"

**. . .**

Classes, to say the least, did not come to par with Akko's imagination. Instead of fun, there were lectures.

There was Professor Anne Finnelan's class: Magic Linguistics. From what she could tell (and concluded the night before), Anne was strict and strung-up, her uniform pressed cleanly and shoes polished. She doubted that the professor would even let a single thing of dust on her sleeve, let alone teach a relaxed class.

Which was confusing. Akko, like many of the students she assumed, had experience learning new languages. But she had forgotten how written lines could look so forgein and muddled if not in a tongue she knew. Akko could only stare at the board, speechless.

"These Lunar runes are the ancient character system used by witches long ago." Akko _did_ make an effort to fill her notes, though her brain short-circuited. "The are a type of segmental script."

_Segmental...wut?_

Anne flicked her wand and garbled letters splayed across the board behind her. "Is there anyone in the class who can read the letters on the board?"

 _Good. I'm not the only one._ A hand raised in front of her. _Okay...what now?_

"Proceed, Miss Cavendish."

Akko blinked. The hand lowered before the girl in front of her stood, posture straight and proper. "'Bless the one who lets the stone remain untouched. Wo betide the one who moves it," she translated with ease.

Professor Finnelan smiled. She complimented over the wave of awed whispers, "That is most impressive, Miss Cavendish. In all my years of teaching, you're the first student to decipher this."

_Oohh... So that's what that says. Wat?_

The girl sat down quietly, and the raven-haired girl from the ley-line terminal gushed, "Way to go Diana! I didn't know you could do that!" Akko was still stunned, paralyzed by the un-fun lesson this was.

At least Sucy agreed with her yawn.

Magic Pharmaceutics wasn't much better, even if it was a tad bit more entertaining. And easier to take notes on. "With each stir of the cauldron, the color begins to change," explained Lukić with a deepening smirk. She was the classic witch, something that somewhat shocked Akko; she thought that witches only looked like her professor on the television. "Next, add a live frog to the concoction—" Atsuko grimaced as a poor frog was thrown in the boiling cauldron— "and the frog must be added when the water is still cold to achieve the proper _effect._ "

Akko tensed as a strange fog began to fill the room, scratching out part of her notes. _Not boiling. We do not boil before adding frog,_ she wrote. _Do we boil?_

She gagged once the fog reached her table, smelling flesh and slime. "Add intestine of newt, ground claw of bat, introduce these ingredients little by little, _then_... Do you smell that pleasant aroma its giving off?" Lukić chuckled. Akko certainly caught a whiff of _something_. To her side, Lotte tried her best to avoid inhaling the fog whilst Sucy took a deep breath and smiled.

And Magic Numerology? Akko wasn't awake for that.

Out of the three, Lotte was the only one jotting down notes, casting curious glances as Sucy mixed together ingredients with a mortar and pestle that she managed to sneak in. At the sound of Professor Badcock's lecture, she continued to write down everything word-for-word: "As discussed in previous lessons, Pagatheros is supposed to be the one who created the basic system of magic and fortune telling... Now," she continued, flipping the page, "let us reference page 923 at line 102..." Lotte yawned, Akko's mood apparently contagious. "Using numerology, you can depict the universe on a scale from one to five—"

"Professor Badcock?"

Lotte glanced at Diana, pausing in her notes, waiting; she was used to the professor and Diana's exchange. "Huh?" The professor looked up from behind the thick, monstrous book.

Diana stood up in the same fashion as the few classes before. "I believe it's actually from one to four, not from one to five."

"Oh no!" She corrected her glasses and nodded, "How can I make that mistake? Yes, you are correct, Diana. It is from one to four."

Lotte wrote the rest of the information down in her notes as Diana sat back down; she caught Hannah and Barbara's gushing comments: "You're even smarter than Badcock!" they giggled. To her side, Sucy snickered and raised her solution, dropping some on Akko's hair tied back. The lock of hair morphed into green, sprouting into a small baby-plant. Lotte sighed and went back to her notes.

The History of Magic was not all that different with Akko falling asleep once again, though this time her first impression was met with an eyebrow-raise from the professor. Sucy giggled to the side.

It wasn't until the middle of class when the professor jutted her wand towards Akko, sending a small green spirit to grab her by the plant and slam her head down on the desk with a dull _thud!_ She then proceeded to as Diana—once again proving her excellency as a student— to answer a question Akko had failed to hear (being stuck in her dream of what classes _should_ be at Luna Nova, and all): "T. S. Daniels, Wizardry Mnemonics."

"Very good, Miss Cavendish." She turned to Akko with Lotte sitting worriedly beside her. "Did you catch that Miss Kagari?!"

Atsuko peeled herself from the desk, eyes watered. She was thankful her nose was flatter than that old crone-of-a-witch with her damn spirit.

"Y-yes," she answered weakly.

**. . .**

"I'm sorry I fell asleep! Those classes are so _boring!_ Who care about old grimy witches anyway?!"

Her table was quiet as they listened to Akko's rant. It wouldn't've been considered eaves-dropping since she was so. Damn. _Loud_. "Wow, she really is a lost cause, isn't she?" Hannah chortled.

"Well..." they heard Lotte respond, "I think the history of magic is actually quite interesting."

"Yeah. What a loser," Barbara added.

Diana remained silent, sipping on the last of her water. She nearly jumped in her seat as Akko yelped. "Sucy! What did you do to my nose?!"

Curious, she looked over her shoulder and found the source of Barbara and Hannah's abrupt laughter: Akko's nose was now long to an exaggerative point, which did not help the stem and pedals that grew from the hair she had tied back. "It's fine," Diana heard Sucy assure, "it'll go back to normal in an hour...maybe."

" _Maybe?!_ You mean I was your guinea pig?!" While Diana didn't appreciate the commotion during her lunch, she could sympathize: That nose was going to cause trouble sticking out as long as it did.

She got to her feet, if only to avoid the noise, and said, "I'm going to get more water."

When Diana strode by Akko's table, she heard: "I can't imagine how Shiny Chariot could deal with all this! Everything is so boring and just... _Ugh_."

Diana had to step in. "Shiny Chariot is frowned upon at Luna Nova. She's a disappointment." Akko turned around, surprised, with mashed potatoes in her mouth. She might as well make her introduction now. "Miss Kagari, isn't that right? You're new here aren't you?"

"Call me—" Akko worked through her food before swallowing. "Just call me Akko. You're the one who translated that sentence in class, right?"

"My name is Diana Cavendish."

She heard steps behind her. "You really don't know who she is? Have you just been living under a rock or something?" Hannah asked, arms crossed.

"She's the best up-and-coming witch to ever come to Luna Nova. You're kidding, right?" Barbara added.

Diana waved a hand as Akko watched her, impressed. Maybe too easily impressed. She hoped that Akko wouldn't grovel at her feet... "In any case, I'll impart some friendly advice to you: Nobody here respects Shiny Chariot so stop thinking of her as a role model. She's a has-been."

Akko's impressed gaze blinked away as she stared at Diana, crossly. So she wouldn't grovel for Diana; that was certainly a change. "That's not true at all!" she hissed. "Shiny Chariot has fans all over the world! Her show was super popular!"

"I'll admit, she gave quite the show," Diana replied. "But it was just that. A show filled with cheap parlor tricks and illusions. It faded away just like any fad, and Shiny Chariot has been gone for ten years. And it doesn't seem like anybody cares of whatever she's doing now." She turned to walk away when Akko got to her feet.

"I care! Shiny Chariot showed me what I wanted to be! And I have to find her to give her back the Shiny Rod!"

Diana halted. She turned around, brow arched. Atsuko was dead serious. And determined. A powerful mix of emotions, Diana knew. "The Shiny Rod, huh? Really now?"

"Yes, _really_. I can show you."

"So be it," Diana said. She stood straight and folded her arms. "Show me."

Akko blinked and scratched the back of her neck. She looked nervous, and Diana took the time to study her. Her jaw tightened once she noticed her revealing length of skirt. "Well..." Akko mumbled, bringing Diana's gaze back to her eyes, "I have to go get it first."

"Fair," Diana murmured. "Then I will wait for you in the courtyard. You better not be lying Mis—" She caught herself. There wasn't any reason to be rude, even if being curt wasn't on purpose. "Akko." She left the table and strode towards the water station at the end of the cafeteria. Hannah and Barbara tittered behind her as she got a glass. Ignoring their comments, Diana watched Akko briskly walk through the double doors, adamant.

"So Diana? What do you think about the new girl, huh?" Hannah asked.

"Pretty stupid, isn't she?" Barbara giggled.

Diana pursed her lips and set the cup down on a used-dishes tray. "If she has the bite behind her bark, then I'd say otherwise. But she needs help getting that damn pedal off her head."

The two witches chortled. "I wonder if she did that to herself."

"Yeah. Or if she even knows it's there."

"Let's go, ladies," Diana sighed, "I told her to meet at the courtyard and _I'm_ not going to back down from my word."

"And what if _she_ does?"

"Well, then I would say she has no right being at this school, if that were the case." They followed Diana out to the courtyard along with a few other witches. They gathered around near a tall statue situated in the middle of the green space, waiting. Several minutes of murmurs and gossip went by before Akko walked straight to Diana, a medium staff at hand.

Wordlessly, she held it out with both hands for Diana to analyze. Diana obliged, studying the Shiny Rod meticulously. Unbeknownst to Akko—or anybody, for the matter—her heart began to race. The small pores Diana noticed by the worn edges, it was indeed bone. And the craters were the precious stones lay, that coloration was unique to one thing: blood.

Akko did not lie. She was _indeed_ brandishing the Shiny Rod. The Claiomh Solais.

Despite her recognition, Diana cleared her throat and stepped away. "An obvious imitation."

"No! This is the real deal!" Akko protested.

"Oh, did you bring that toy for show-and-tell?" Barbara asked.

"Did you spend your allowance on it?" chortled Hannah.

Akko huffed. "Fine. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!" She stomped towards the statue, the four witches standing in robes, back-to-back, eyes closed. "Please...work like before. Do a miracle," Atsuko whispered. Everybody looked on, expectant. Diana crossed her arms, intrigued. Confidently, she pointed at the statue with a grand gesture. "Move stone statue!"

Nothing.

Akko blinked. "I said _move!_ " Another wave of the wand to no avail. "Come on, please stone statue? Please? I'm begging..." The plant on her head twitched, on the of newer leaves that had grown in the past hour falling miserably. Giggles started to surface at this point. "I don't get it. Why isn't it working?" she mumbled, shoulders slumped.

Diana sighed as Lotte whispered, "Poor Akko..."

Deciding the time was up for weak attempts at magic, Diana whipped out her wand. "Ansolew airo!"

The statues suddenly shivered with a terrifying energy, knocking Akko flat on her back, crawling away from it. Gasps rang around the courtyard as one of the statues reached forward, stripping the annoying cluster of leaves from Akko's head, freeing her hair from that ridiculous spell. And with a blink of an eye, the statues were back to their rightful place. Diana pocketed her wand as the witches around her whispered excitedly.

"I didn't know you could do that Diana!" Barbara gasped. "That was an advanced spell that brings statues to life!" she said in awe, putting her hands together.

"Diana, you're miraculous!" Hannah added.

Diana waved their comments aside politely and stepped forward once to Akko. " _Real_ magic is cultivated by tradition and countless hours of intensive study. It is not something you can just _pick up_ because of a fad." She frowned. "If you hope to stay here, you will have to do more than just pander to your little childhood dreams."

"The Cavendish family is renowned for their rich history in magic," Barbara explained.

Hannah nodded, hissing, "Diana's much better than some dumb show magician."

Done with the confrontation, Diana turned around and walked away, leaving Hannah and Barbara to blubber, calling after her. They jogged to her side eagerly. After all, it meant a lot if you stood with a Cavendish.

It also meant a lot to stand _against_ one as well.

 _If only she wasn't a fool,_ Diana thought to herself, sorely disappointed.

To Akko's credit, Diana didn't see the finger she was given.

**. . .**

As they sat on the grass, Akko laying out all of her Shiny Chariot cards, she mumbled, "Diana's skirt is short. And nobody talks about that..."

"Hers is the shortest you can make it," Lotte said.

"Yeah," Sucy added, "you're just a slut."

Akko glowered. With the final card laid flat, she exhaled gloomily and bent her knees. Akko wrapped her arms around them, staring at the cards. "So it's been ten years since she left, huh?" She closed her eyes and sunk into herself. "I wonder what she's been doing and where's she gone."

"It doesn't even seem like anybody knows where to start looking for her," Lotte murmured. As Atsuko continued to gaze at the ground, Lotte asked, "Hey, Akko? Was it hard to find all those cards?"

That brought her out of her shell. "Yeah... They were hard to come by when I was a kid. Back then, she was really popular." Akko grinned softly, and Lotte saw a brief glimpse of maturity in her; before now, from what she could tell Akko was all soft and goofy, though her reminiscent gaze brought insight to the woman she would grow into someday. "I would sleep with my card binder. Not even a stuffed animal." She pointed towards one with a picture and description of a Papiliodia. Lotte noticed it was the only one done in English. "I remember going to England for that one," she said. "It wasn't for a show or anything. My uncle said it would be good to visit so I could practice the native language here, and my mom took me to a shop." Akko giggled. "She didn't know a speck of English and my uncle was trying to get a cab—it was really busy that day."

"That sounds nice," said Lotte.

"Just imagine some thirty-year-old woman who doesn't talk and this kid with broken English trying to pay for something," Akko laughed. "'Can I have card? I got money also,'" she imitated with a thick, Japanese accent.

"It sounds entertaining," Sucy commented.

Akko nodded. Her smile fell back to her nostalgic grin. She laid her hand on the grass where a space of a card was, in the middle of her collection. "I could never get my hands on this one premium card... I have all the rest, and if I didn't trade the extras, I'd probably have ten times this. But that one... Didn't ever get to even see it."

Sucy picked up a card with a mushroom on it. "A unicorn..." Lotte read—or at least _saw_ with the rest in Japanese.

"'An eternal holy creature, the protector of happiness," Akko translated.

"You memorized it?" Lotte asked.

Akko shrugged. "All of them. I suck at some of the pronunciation though, like the papiliodia. 'A butterfly that can fly long distances. It hatches once every century, and it's said to give hope for anyone who gazes upon it.'" She chuckled. "I hope I get to so I know how to get the wording for the spell right." Excitement then gleamed in her eyes. "Hey! Why don't we play a game with the cards!"

"Like a card game...? With these?" Lotte glanced at them. "Which one is supposed to be the ace?"

"No, silly! You can play them like Pokémon, but even better!"

Sucy blinked. "Poké— what now?"

"Pokémon..." Akko ogled at the two of them. They stared back, completely lost. "Are you kidding me? You don't know what Pokémon is?!"

**. . .**

Holbrook, Ursula and Finnelan all stood around the Jennifer Memorial Tree at the center of the botanical gardens. Ursula was looking over her notes, Anne tapping her foot impatiently. "Well? Do you have any idea as to what caused this?" she asked, gesturing towards the tree. Where it stood, leaves rich in color and bark strong and dark, the tree was now weathered, shrunken and pale.

"Well, it appears that whatever _is_ at fault, if it is eradicated, then the tree's symptoms is temporary."

Miranda Holbrook sighed. "I do hope so. I would hate for it to go out like this. Do you have anymore information?"

"I have an idea of where to look," Ursula admitted, "but not a clear indication."

"Report immediately once you do," Anne said. 

"I-I will. I just need a few more—"

They glanced at the incoming party, Diana flanked by her friends. "I heard about the Memorial Tree. I can't believe it has gotten this week," said Diana, concerned.

Miranda nodded, and said softly, "Yes, it's quite sad. But, we can't ignore that this tree is very old. It's possible it could be at the end of its time dear."

"I see..." The women walked off, leaving the students to stare on at the ill tree. "It's said that this tree inherited the will of the great witch Jennifer. It's sacred to Luna Nova." She pursed her lips in thought. "I don't think it's at its end yet, these trees are supposed to grow for thousands of years, especially with strong ties to witches like Jennifer." Diana turned to Hannah and Barbara. "Do you have the rocks?"

Barbara nodded as Hannah answered, "Yes. What kind of magic will you be doing exactly?"

"Revitalization magic... This trick has been passed down my family for generations," Diana murmured. "There has to be an outer ring, then a ring within the roots. Hannah, you take that third and you take that third, Barbara." They set to work, concentrating on the spacing between the rocks and curve within the branches. With each placement, they felt the turquoise rocks hum against their palms, reassuring.

Once Barbara and Hannah announced that they were finished, they went to Diana's sides and waited. The Cavendish held her wand out, then said, voice proud, "Louperial Ral!" A ring of light was traced into the air, the rocks illuminating with great force. The tree seemed to have inhaled deeply, the branches raising with leaves blossoming, the bark growing stronger in both texture and color.

The smiled, congratulating Diana: "You did it!"

"You're such a good witch!"

Diana eased a polite smile, glad to see the tree far healthier than before. "It seems that the nutrients I gave it have been soaked into the tree."

"I'm going to tell the Holbrook!" Barbara exclaimed joyfully, racing off with Hannah with the exciting news. Diana allowed her small grin to linger.

Up until the ground rumbled from beneath her feet.

She frowned, watching cracks take shape within the grass. "What—" Roots groaned as they peeled themselves from the earth, crackling angrily. "What?" Diana stammered, "W-what happened? I did it right, what did I miss?!" She jumped as the roots tore through the brick path circling the grass patch and tree easily. Her eyes widened as she saw Akko charge forward, followed by an equally bewildered Lotte and Sucy. "Get out of here!" Diana urged.

Akko staggered back as the tree jerked right at her feet warningly. She ignored it. "What did happened?! Do you know, Diana?!" Once the tree appeared to be done writhing from the ground, she stepped over the roots, eyes narrowed at the strange bulbous packs—not unlike sea urchins—leeching off of the tree. "What are these things?"

Diana studied them as Sucy said, "They look like pupae to me."

Akko quickly turned around. "Are you sure?"

"Parasites..." Diana whispered. "That's what made the tree so sick, and I just gave them all the nutrients with my spell!" Determined, she whipped out her wand. "They need to be gone!" She pointed at one of the parasites. "Murowa!" It crackled, the yellow, glowing color draining to a deep, saddening purple. "Murowa!" Three more grew limp, their spikes slackening.

Once one hissed beside Akko, she frowned and leaned closer. "Wait a minute...hold on." Her eyes widened. "Diana! Wait a second!" She hurled herself towards Diana's target, arms stretched.

"Wha— _Akko_ , get out of the way!" Diana hissed.

"Hold _on_ , they might not be so bad after all!" Akko argued.

Stubbornly, Diana's eyes darted to her right and she snapped, "Murowa!" With speed, Akko jumped forward, blocking the spell with her body. She grunted, feeling very fried, and collapsed onto the ground. Diana nearly dropped her wand. _How did she move so quickly?!_

"Akko!" Lotte gasped, immediately by her side with Sucy. Diana trudged across the roots as well.

"I-I didn't mean to..."

Sucy murmured, "She was hit pretty hard with that spell. She doesn't look too good."

Akko grunted, her eyes sunken with grey, skin paper-white. She put a hand on Lotte's shoulder and mumbled, "Papiliodia..."

"What?"

She sat up and shuffled around in her pockets, then noticed her cards lying in front of her, scattered. Akko picked on up, brushing off the dirt. She held it up, more so towards Diana. "The papiliodia... I think those are its pupae."

"Papiliodia," Diana repeated as Akko got to her feet.

"See? They're not bad, they're just getting to be a bit much for the tree," Akko said quietly.

"Hey." Lotte stood up with an idea. "Why don't you use the spell on the card?"

"The papiliodia one?" Lotte nodded. Abruptly, the Shiny Rod beside the cards began to glow dramatically. Its light began to dazzle Diana's gaze, but she couldn't help but stare in wonder. Akko furrowed her brows and picked it up with the same confidence she had in the courtyard, handing the card to whoever was on her left—Diana. She blinked at the card as Akko prepared herself. She paused, stumbling over the first word.

Diana read the card. "It's 'papillio fillio nymphodia,'" she said.

"That's how you say it?" Diana nodded once. "Thanks!" said Akko with a grin. "Come on, fly papiliodia! Your time is now! Papillio fillio nymphodia!" All at once the pupae were brought to life, vibrating as cracks splintered across their surfaces. Once torn away, glowing gold butterflies stretched freely, taking in their new world. Diana felt her heart flutter watching them, their shine against the sun peaking through the glass dome bringing her back to a time when she was but a little girl. Excited. Free. Naïve.

Hopeful.

It was a wonderful feeling.

Akko cheered, flapping her arms as they began to surge upwards, leaving through a hole in the dome left damaged for years now. "Sucy! Can we borrow your broom! Let's fly with them!" Sucy watched her, brow arched. "Come on, _please?_ When will we ever get the chance to again?!"

Sucy sighed. "Well, I guess I can give you that much after freeing them."

The trio left Diana to watch the papiliodia, the roots returning to the ground calmly. The tree never looked better. Even after her spell. The thick bush of leaves on each of the prances, leaving only room for spots of evening sunlight to break through, that wasn't Diana's doing. She tensed her jaw. Maybe there was something more to Akko's magic after all. _Or was it the Claiomh Solais and nothing more?_

"My, my! The Memorial Tree is back to normal!" Diana turned to find Holbrook and Finnelan come in, accompanied by Hannah and Barbara.

"Yeah, it was the spell Diana did!"

"It brought the tree back to life!"

Holbrook smiled. "Well, I have to thank you Diana for this!"

"Ah, but..." she started slowly, guilt irking her. Damn her name. This wasn't the time to be honored. "It wasn't me who—"

"Nonsense!" Anne said. "Who else could have done this?"

Diana gawped for a moment, then closed her mouth. "E-excuse me, please." She walked away, eyes to the ground, as she heard them comment on her talent. _It's always the same. I'm always the prized student._ Her grip tightened as she stepped outside, meandering her way towards a bridge. _Even for something I did even do._

She heard laughter in the sky and looked up. Akko beamed down at her, waving with Sucy guiding her broom and Lotte chuckling, holding on as tight as she could with Akko's excitement. Diana didn't know what to do. She almost raised her arm to wave back, only for the broom to turn away. 

Diana sighed. Regardless of Akko's floundering abilities with magic, she was surely to lead an interesting few years. _That_ , Diana was certain of.

**. . .**

In her suite, Diana paced in an awkward pigeon-circle, curling around her desk and bed. Across from her bed, against her desk, there was a long bookshelf separating her space from Hannah and Barbara's chatter. Only one semester and a day and Diana's bookshelf was half-full with scrolls and aging books—anything she could get her hands on. And laid across her desk was her own journals, two already completed with research and observations scrawled across each page. The pages Diana was compiling now were opened.

If only she knew _what_ to write and what the hell was going on.

Diana rubbed her temple and paused at her desk, overlooking her diagram. Information jotted down from several of the scrolls were squeezed to the side, giving room for the intricate drawing of a medium staff, seven jewels running down its shaft. 

She backed away, playing with her tie before loosening it. Diana rested her arms on the wall, folded, for her head to press against them. Striking blue eyes stared at the floorboards in thought. _The answer is right in front of me. It walked itself to Luna Nova..._ she pondered, the Shiny Rod burning in her mind. _But it's in_ her _hands. Why? What makes it so she has it and not anybody else? And Chariot's still alive, isn't she?! She would still have—_

There was a creak behind her, a very unique creak at that. It was one of the boards at the edge of her bookshelf which she unconsciously avoided; it reminded her of a whiny toad.

Diana turned around and found Barbara and Hannah hesitantly stepping beside her bed. It was odd to find them pass the separator, despite the suite being theirs just as much as Diana's. "Yes?" she asked calmly. Both were in their pajamas, and Diana wondered what time it was.

"Nothing much. We were just gonna ask if you're busy," Hannah answered as Barbara curiously strolled towards the desk.

"For what?"

"We were going to check out Avery's new broom. Nelson said that her other one was getting too old and light at the brush."

Diana nodded, then asked, "Isn't curfew soon?"

"Twenty minutes. We wouldn't be long. But you seem like you're busy thinking again..."

"Did you draw this?" Barbara turned towards Diana, pointing at the journal.

Before she could stop herself, she answered, "Yes."

Barbara arched a brow. "Isn't this was Akko had earlier today? Like the same thing Shiny Chariot used for her shows?"

Diana walked over and shook her head, waving a hand dismissively. "I don't know _what_ Akko had. As I said, a cruel imitation. Though I don't know, or care to know, what Chariot used." Barbara took a step back as Diana stood, quietly closing the journal with her thumb keeping the pages separate. "It's the Claiomh Solais. If Chariot did use this wand, she put its power to waste."

"Oh," Barbara hummed. "Don't tell me _you're_ a fan of Shiny Chariot too."

Diana answered shortly, "I'm not." With her free hand, she gestured towards the bookcase. "I'm compiling research for a way to help magic and this wand is an option, regardless of whether or not it's connected to Shiny Chariot."

"That makes sense, I guess," Hannah said. "Anyway, we'll be back. We're just going to Avery's room." Diana nodded as they strode away, the issue over her diagram already pushed to the back of their minds. She figured that neither one of them really paid mind to her studies; all that mattered was that she was Diana Cavendish, doing Cavendish things in a Diana way: _alone_.

The door was shut and Diana turned her hand over with her thumb still on the pages, right back to the diagram. She sat at her desk and sighed, then took out a feathered pen. She still didn't have any clue as to what was happening, though she could at _least_ write down her observations. That was what made good research, right?

_08 May 2018:_

_While I am far from completing my research on the Claiomh Solais, I have uncovered quite a lot today. I_  
_don't understand any of it though. This wand is a key to the Grand Triskellion, which can change the_  
_world for the better. Before today, I thought I was capable of wielding it for the sake of magic's survival._  
_However, now I know I am not. Claiomh Solais chooses one person to open the Grand Triskellion, and_  
_I can admit I was foolish enough to believe that after the wand was not with Chariot that I'd be able to find_  
_it._

 _At least I know that death, unless Chariot is indeed dead, is not what breaks the bond between the_  
_wielder and wand. But I also know that it chose Atsuko Kagari and I cannot find any reason other than_  
_her eagerness for magic. She's largely incapable, though I have witnessed her use the Claiomh Solais with_  
_relative ease. It appears, however, that she can only use it at certain points, and I assume that's when she's_  
_not being an absolute fool (which is most of the time). I still cannot deny her ability when she actually does_  
_it, however._

 _Even so, from what I saw, she could very well open the Grand Triskellion. And I can only hope to be there_  
_when it happens because I still cannot fathom the possibility._

 _I just want to know why. Despite the lack of true magic in Shiny Chariot's shows, Chariot du Noir was still_  
_a talented witch before she vanished. If she did wield the Claiomh Solais, I would understand how, even_  
_if she was not the strongest choice. She was an experienced witch as well. But Atsuko... She has no_  
_experience and no true talent that I can see. Just an unruly passion for magic. I can only wonder and ask_  
_ how? Why?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, so far it seems like I'm ripping off the show and barely putting any differences in (if you get what I mean). Relax. The fourth chapter will be the last chapter where it'll feel that way; at chapter five I'll start adding in the 2013 OVA, and then after that the story (hopefully) shouldn't feel as much as the series, even though I'll continue using the episodes and such as leverage. Make sense? Maybe...
> 
> But just so you know, as of now I have chapters 3-8 (plus 19 & 20) all planned out and as working drafts on this site. This appears to encourage me to pump things out quicker, even though I prefer seeing Verdana on FF.net... Whatever. But I've been in the writing mood! 19 & 20 are almost completely written, so maybe (hopefully) that's where I'll strive to finish by the end of this month; I'm leaving the state in the middle of that and doing an online course. A challenge I'll accept.
> 
> Oh! And one little thing I forgot to mention in the first chapter but I'll put here because the A/N was long in that one: While I may reference other episodes and such within chapters that are based off of another thing, that doesn't necessarily mean they're mash-ups. Mash-ups (which will be more obvious in the title of chapters) will be things that add to the overall plot and actually influences the story. So, like, the reference to Akko's pointy nose from the OVA doesn't count as a mash-up since...other than a funny description or two, it didn't add much to the story. See? But (to make things confusing) at the same time, I may consider something a mash-up if an episode is prolonged for the sake of this story; basically, if say I was mashing-up a chapter and the 2013 OVA but I only referenced or foreshadowed the latter, I would still consider it a mash-up because of what's to come and it impacts the plot. Yeah...? Is this getting too long? I hate long A/N's... It's gonna be the last one for a while, I swear. ;_;
> 
> And I just fucking remembered that Diana's British so she'll be spelling things like a not-American. And I wanna be as accurate as I can. God dammit. Anyway, regarding her journal entries (there will be a bit of them), for those who are British and you see something that's typically of American spelling, please tell me. I'll be able to get the more obvious ones (like favorite vs favourite) since I tend to accidentally spell things that way anyhow. It's so easy to edit things on here so might as well. I just get lazy with some of the things but I won't with this. :P
> 
> Anyway, just wanted to get that out there. Hope you enjoyed!  
> :)


	3. Part I. Flying Witches [Ep. #3]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for this coming out later than what I hoped. I went across my country (U.S) and things were...hectic? Something like that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these two chapters. Figured if I updated later, might as well update more to make up for it.
> 
> Oh, and for those who are really excited for the divergence...I left a little Easter-egg in there for you. It's towards the end, but it means everything for this story. And I repeat myself too...so... ;)
> 
> Okay, okay. I hope you enjoy!  
> :)

As a few weeks had gone by, Akko was doing much better paying attention in her classes. (Meaning she didn't sleep as often.) In fact, she figured that she had a good handle on the schedule by then. Up until this class where everybody was clustered in a large, open room with a witch standing in front, beside a chalk-board with diagrams scrawled across. She was excited beyond belief with a staff in her hand beside Sucy and Lotte, though the clothes could have been better; a grey shirt and navy-blue shorts weren't very stylish, especially since there was no distinction between teams in this uniform.

Nevertheless, she listened to the professor. Akko noticed that she was the type to bear a chip on her shoulder and made of hard edges; she also noticed one of her teeth was nicked off. "Alright, for those who don't know," the witch started, gathering the attention of the witches with a strong voice, eyeing Sucy and Akko, "I am Professor Nelson! I teach physicals! We'll be going over self-defense, combat, flying and other activities, and I am in charge of any events of such!" Her volume also seemed to be at a yell by default. She pointed at the board. 

"Today, we will be focusing on combat, specifically with staffs, which is something we've drabbled in the past if you recall! This may not be directly linked with magic today, as you can see with what you're holding, but you will be practicing magic techniques later on in this semester!" Some of the witches nodded. "Now, because some periods have changed around, today we are going to be finding your ranking level! This is important so that we know who is more advanced than who so that we can avoid injuries as much as possible!" Her wand jutted out to the crowd. "It is important that you _do not_ fight above your level after this class unless we have an evaluation day! Our goal is to build our strength, _not_ break it!"

Nelson placed her hands on her hips with her wand. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor Nelson," everybody answered.

"Good. Now, I will assign pairs that _aren't_ of your level just to truly test your limits for today! This is an evaluation class!" Nelson thought for a moment, then said, "Now who here does not have experience with a staff?"

Only Sucy's hand went up.

Avery, who stood beside the blue team, hissed, "Akko, you know she asked who _doesn't_ have experience, right?"

Akko looked over her shoulder, annoyed. "I know that." She narrowed her eyes. Avery, Hannah and Barbara didn't look convinced. Diana...well, she couldn't read her expression. "My dad taught me." Avery didn't comment but shrugged instead. 

"Okay, I will put you with the beginners..." Nelson murmured to herself, nodding at Sucy. "Okay! I will organize you into pairs, starting with you and you, you and you, you and you..."

Five minutes later and Akko was in the middle of the room with a cushioned, pillow-like vest on her stomach with a red blotch in the middle. Avery was too, holding her staff confidently. All around them others had begun to test each other, jabbing and swiping with the staffs. Akko watched their forms for a moment, confused. _Why are they holding it like that? They don't need two hands. Well, I guess they could but...it's a staff._

"Well, Akko," Avery said, bracing herself, "now we'll have to see what your dad taught you. Just to let you know, I'm at middle ranking."

"Oh, okay," Akko mumbled. She bowed briefly before getting to her stance.

Avery cocked an eyebrow. "What was that?"

Akko's cheeks grew pink. "Y-you mean you don't bow...?"

"No." Avery sighed and bowed politely, asking, "I'm guessing that's what you do in Japan, right?"

Akko smiled. "Thank-you," she said.

"I guess." She got to position and stared at Akko for a moment. "Aren't you going to use both hands?"

"Why should I? Why are you holding it like a sword?" she countered, pacing to the side.

Avery followed. "What do you mean?"

"It's a staff."

"Well I know _that_." Avery huffed, eyes narrowed. "If you want to use one hand, go ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you." Akko furrowed her brows in concentration, then immediately went on the offensive. Avery stumbled backwards, not expecting Akko to be so quick on her feet. Staffs clacked before she felt the other end of Akko's wooden weapon tap her stomach. Akko backed away and set the staff down. _Did she really beat me that quick?_ "I...I wasn't ready."

Akko shrugged. "Too bad. We already bowed."

"I guess you have to find somebody else then," Avery grumbled. She turned away and strode across the room, searching for another witch to combat against. 

Akko sighed. _That was too easy. She just exposed everything right away!_ She meandered around the gymnasium, though wherever she went, witches paired right up with each other as soon as they were finished. Akko watched Lotte for a moment, still in her first match. Both girls were slow to go after each other, prolonging the duel. Akko turned her attention away; Lotte wouldn't be available for a while, _and_ Akko supposed she'd end up being too rough for her friend's liking. Sucy was in the corner with Nelson, learning the basics as Nelson gestured towards students who provided good examples.

One of which was Diana Cavendish.

 _Of course_ she's _good at this,_ Akko thought. _She's perfect at_ everything _. Even eating and shitting probably._ Despite her impression of Diana, Akko had to admit that she had skill with the staff. For one thing, she didn't use it like a wooden sword. It was a _staff_ , for goodness sake.

And before she knew it, Diana caught on with her staring. After another duel won, she turned around and asked, "What is it Akko, do you need tips on form?"

Akko scowled. "Why is that the first thing you think?" she grumbled.

"I don't know, Akko. You're not doing anything."

She then brandished her staff. "Not for long!" Dramatically, Atsuko said, "Duel with me, Diana!"

Witches close within their parameter turned around, pausing in their duels. They gawked at Akko, who _dared_ strike a duel with Diana Cavendish. "Uh...you're gonna get yourself beat," Akko heard.

"Yeah, she's the top in our class."

"Well some people have to learn the hard way..."

"She's got some guts to even ask—"

"Quiet, all of you!" Diana cut across. She turned to Akko and said, "If you want to, we can." Akko smiled, then gave a small bow. She readied herself. Diana blinked in confusion, Akko keeping her gaze on her. She nodded her head then posed. Akko smirked: She caught Diana off-guard. 

_Not so perfect then, is she? That's a relief._ Akko stepped to the side, and Diana mirrored her movements perfectly. She jerked forward, and Diana was quick to block. Akko snickered as Diana pursed her lips; even though she bluffed, Diana's reflexes were quick.

But were they faster than hers?"

Akko jerked to the left once again, and unsurprisingly Diana blocked to the side only for Akko to swing from the right. The staffs clacked and Diana briefly lost her footing. _She hits hard,_ Diana thought as the staffs' constant smacks against one another echoed throughout the room. Everybody was on the sidelines, watching Diana and Akko.

Akko spun and jabbed at Diana, though the staff was whacked away. She caught the staff cutting towards her and held it firmly against Diana. Their grips both trembled to their chests, face-to-face with only the staffs in between them. Diana narrowed her eyes as Akko grinned. _She's too arrogant for her own good._ Diana shoved Akko and went completely on the offensive. Now it was Akko's turn to be caught off-guard.

She stumbled backwards, falling to the floor. Atsuko grunted once Diana tapped the blotch on her cushion. She looked up, defeated as Diana gave a sigh. "I must admit, Akko, you're not bad by any means. But I do not know how you'll fair once magic is involved, especially since you're too foolhardy to win."

"Oh I'll be able to do it, magic or not. I promise you that, Diana!" Akko exclaimed.

Diana pursed her lips, unimpressed, and removed her staff from Akko's cushion. She strode away, leaving Akko propped up on her elbows. Once a pair of heavy boots halted by her side, she looked up. Nelson was writing on her clipboard. "I will put you at tier...nineteen."

Akko got up. "And what about Diana?"

Students began to get back to their duels around them (or congratulating Diana, either or). Nelson said, "Twenty." Akko scowled and folded her arms. "You have a very eastern fighting style."

"Oh...yeah... Am I not supposed to?"

Nelson arched a brow. "I don't care. You know how to use a staff, that's really all that matters." She thought for a moment, then said, "Now that I think about it, you'd probably give everybody a challenge because everybody else here has been taught by me." The professor tapped her clipboard and said, "Now go on, Kagari, find somebody else to duel. We still have forty-or-so minutes left in class."

**. . .**

Professor Ursula strolled down the hall, broom in hand, sharing gentle smile to the students she passed. _Here we go, down this hall._ Ursula prepared to knock on the door, only to find it open with Akko twirling about inside. The dorm felt well lived-in already, and nostalgic memories resurfaced. The young professor gazed at the potions surrounding one bed and the bunks at the other side. She noticed the Shiny Chariot poster hanging by the lower bunk and immediately felt her smile weaken.

 _Oh no..._ she thought to herself solemnly. _Not her. She's not somebody to idolize..._

Her attention was jerked back to Akko once said student noticed her in the room. "Oh! Professor...uh. Oh, hi," she mumbled, holding something behind her back.

"Oh, I'm Professor Ursula," she introduced herself. "And you must be Atsuko Kagari?"

"Yeah, but everybody calls me Akko," she said. "And that's cool. So you're gonna be like my tutor?" Ursula nodded. "Anyway, did you...need anything else?"

"Oh, yes, here's your school registered broom," Ursula replied, handing over the red-ribboned broom. Excitedly, Akko took the broom and gazed at it in awe.

She grinned and said, "My very own broom! I can fly and everything now!" She twirled around once again, and Ursula saw the Shiny Rod hooked to the back of her vest.

Ursula swallowed. She watched Akko for a moment, her deep, brown eyes flecked with dazzling red. _That clears up the mystery of the ley-line..._ "About that wand..."

"Oh, this one?" Ursula nodded. "It's not mine," Akko said holding it in her hand. "It's actually Shiny Chariot's wand! But it was in the forest and...yeah, I don't really know what it was doing there. But Lotte said that we should hand over anything like this, but I plan on giving it to Shiny Chariot whenever I meet her!" Akko declared.

Ursula wrung her wrists. "Oh, well I think for right now you should hang onto it. Don't worry about Chariot, she would want you to keep it safe I bet." Once she noticed her eyes had dropped to the floor, she picked them back up and noticed Akko wasn't listening, too excited about her broom. Leaving her to herself, Ursula slipped out the door.

Though, at the end of the hall, she heard, "Believing myself is my magic!"

Something rich and bitter stung in her mouth. Ursula thinned her lips. "'Believing myself is my magic..." she echoed cynically. The taste in her mouth grew more tart; how many times had she said that hollow phrase? It felt like she was kicking a dead horse by repeating it. "Huh?" she hummed, strolling down the hall. Even though Ursula still managed to smile at the students, her mind was somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away.

**. . .**

Akko giggled, holding her broom proudly as Lotte and Sucy sat on a bench beside her. "I can't wait until class starts! I can finally ride a broom!" Lotte chuckled as Sucy continued to watch impassively. "I've practiced ever since I was young! I even have a bunch of scars to prove it!" She brandished her knee. "This was jumping off of a slide, and this one—" she revealed her foot— "was when I tumbled down a hill!"

"Well that's what would happen if you didn't have the sorcerer's stone," Sucy murmured.

"I know that now! How was I supposed to know as a kid?" She slipped her boot back on and held onto her hat with a grin. "But today I can practice for real!"

Nelson's voice, while somewhat intelligible, rang throughout the air. Their class had begun to gather at the edge of the courtyard. Akko smiled and jogged to meet them with Sucy and Lotte trailing behind at a leisurely pace. "She's like a puppy," Sucy commented. 

"Yeah," Lotte giggled. "Isn't it funny?"

Sucy worked her jaw. "I guess." With the two of them caught up, they followed Nelson who led them away from the field. "Where are we going?"

"To New Moon tower, I think. Or the observatory...I don't really know," Lotte murmured. "But she likes to go to the tower first before doing field work, just to give a challenge at the start." Sucy nodded as Akko clapped her hands together. They strolled through a thick bundle of trees. It was cool in the shade where the birds tittered.

And when the trees broke to a clearing, Akko craned her neck to the top of the tower. "That's a tall tower..." she mumbled. "Are we going up there?" Lotte nodded. "Oh..." They entered the tower and made their way up the staircase. With each few dozen steps up, the grip around her broom grew stronger and more nervous. At least there were windows with fresh air flowing through. Akko glanced out a window as she passed. They were going really high, weren't they? She asked Lotte, who was still inspecting her borrowed broom, "So...where are we going?"

"To the 'B' broom landing."

"But...how high is that?"

Lotte frowned ad shrugged. "I don't really know how high it is, but 'A' is the highest so we're going to the second-highest and we'll go to broom landing 'B' on the observatory."

"O-okay. That makes sense." With each broom landing they passed, Akko grew more nervous. She could fly, she knew it, but _had_ she? Quick answer: no. And sooner than later (much to her absolute joy), they were at broom landing 'B'. Akko gulped as the students chattered, Professor Nelson's instructions drowned out.

Lotte smiled to herself and whispered, "I'm so excited to fly. Even though this isn't my broom, it'll still be fun, huh?" Akko could only grunt and nod slowly. Diana (of course) was the first to go, flawlessly taking flight and soaring to the other tower. Lotte watched Akko, concerned, until it was her turn. "O...okay, well, I'll just be heading off now."

"Y-yup."

Lotte blinked. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Akko muttered in a small voice. After Avery and Hannah took off, Lotte hopped and flew away to the other tower with ease. After a good number of people stepped off in the same manner, Akko stumbled forward.

Nelson wrote down a few letters on her clipboard and said, "Alright, your turn." Akko's eyes widened and she looked down. Bad idea. Everybody watched her, even from the other tower.

Lotte sighed with Sucy and the blue team beside her. "Oh, Akko..."

"Isn't this her first time flying?" Sucy asked quietly.

"Yeah, it is."

Diana rose a brow. "And she is going to try her first time jumping eighty meters?"

"That's eighty?!" Lotte asked, now thoroughly concerned.

"Roughly," Diana answered. There was a familiar smack of a broom (Nelson would often _encourage_ those who wouldn't fly off with a little tap), and intense screaming followed. Akko was falling. No, _flailing._ " _Shit!_ " Diana's heart leapt and skipped several beats alike Lotte's, and both slammed into the railing. "TIA FREYRE!" Diana snapped, and not a second after Akko's broom seized to a terrifying halt. 

Akko hung in the air, her strong grip trembling around the broom. She reached with her left hand and dangled.

Both Diana and Lotte gasped against the railing, eyes wide with shock. "T-thanks...Diana..." the ginger croaked. "I...think you're the one...who stopped...that..."

"Why the hell did she go if she can't _fly?!_ " Diana hissed, more to herself than at Lotte. She turned to ask again, more politely, when screaming ripped through the air. In horror, everybody watched and listened as Akko plummeted towards the trees, her cries—"HOLY FUCKING— FUCKING FU-F-F-F-FUUUUCKING SHIT MY— JESUS CHRIST! F-F-F-FUUUU—"—piercing.

Everybody was dead silent, staring over the edge. After a long minute, Hannah wheezed an awkward laugh and asked, "I-is she _alive?!_ "

"Akko!" Lotte screamed, her senses smacking her all at once. She hopped on her broom immediately and flew quickly down. Diana, with her grip ready on her own broom, jerked to go down as well. But she gasped, relieved when Akko limped her way out from the trees, looking up the towers. 

"I AM OKAY!" she announced loudly. Diana relaxed as there was a round of applause from both towers.

However, it was halted as soon as Akko slumped to the ground.

**. . .**

Lotte watched as Sucy slid on her broom and took to the sky, practicing the small obstacle course set up at the end of the field; poles were scattered about, urging the students to twist and turn around them, demonstrating their agility during flight.

Students except for Akko.

She sat on the bench, her broomstick up in her dorm after the nurse urged her to rest after taking quite the fall. Lotte sat beside her on a bench, watching her friend cautiously. Like the first day of school, Akko stared off into space, her expression not as bubbly and childish as usual. Nor was it nostalgic, or determined. Lotte didn't know what it was, only that it wasn't happy.

"Hey, Akko?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you doing good?"

Akko glanced at some of the bandages that coated her arms. "Yeah. They don't sting anymore. Whatever the nurse did worked."

"That's...good," Lotte murmured, "but that's not what I meant." Akko arched a brow. "I mean, you don't look happy, and not just because you scraped yourself a bit..." She reconsidered. "A lot."

There came a sigh. "Yeah..." Akko continued to watch the field as a witch on a broom soared passed, ripping through the air. Her platinum and lime hair danced after her, and Akko felt her cheeks warm once catching enchanting blue eyes briefly glancing over her. But she frowned. "Why does Diana always have to be so... _good_ at everything? How does she do that, like..." Akko sunk in her seat and mumbled, "I'm never going to be as good as her at the rate I'm going. I couldn't even fly a broom properly."

"Well, I guess but everybody goes at their own pace," Lotte said. "Diana is a part of an old witch family, so she'll have natural talent and will be able to pick witchcraft up pretty quickly. And you're also the first witch in your family, so a lot of this stuff that's not new to me is new to you."

"But even in the other classes," Akko countered, "she's so good at math and stuff... And at my school, I literally was doing math until I dropped dead. _Everything_ was drilled into me constantly and I still aren't as good as her."

Lotte nodded, more to be sympathetic than anything. "Yeah, well, you might need to take more time to learn everything. And maybe you can learn from her."

"From Diana?!" Akko exclaimed hotly.

Her friend rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, from Diana. Look, maybe it'll help watching the race coming up. Then you can see kinda how flying a broom is like."

Akko sighed and rested her cheek in her palm. "Yeah, I guess." She continued to watch Diana fly with ease.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to Sucy a bit. Want to come or are you going to sit here?"

"I'll stay."

Lotte nodded. "Okay. I think we'll be going to the cafeteria to eat something too, after she's done."

Akko smiled softly and nodded; maybe some food would cheer her up a bit. She watched as Lotte walked towards Sucy, who hovered in the middle of the poles leisurely. Her smile dropped as Diana raced passed. _She really is perfect at everything, isn't she?_ Akko frowned. _Honestly. Is there something she isn't good at?_

**. . .**

Sharp winds caressed her face as she blitzed across the field. Diana pulled her broom upwards, its handle reaching towards the clouds before guiding back around in a loop. Her heart pounded, almost giddy. Hands tensed as she neared the end of the field marked by a small sampling. _No. Not now._ A small smile broke free, and she turned sharply, darting diagonally with the speed of a bullet.

Her hat tussled against the breeze, and her hair followed her forward stance like ribbons. If Diana wasn't captured by her studies, this would be all she wanted to do: Feel her adrenaline rush and chest buzz with excitement. Fly amongst the birds or race with the chorus of hooves—it didn't matter. Though, perhaps she preferred soaring with a mighty steed under her, feeling their attitude at the tip of the reins. Maybe that was why her broom was specialized; the attention it was given—from wood polishing to brush clippings—gave the impression it was manufactured rather than crafted hundreds of years ago. She could practically feel the gleeful spirit of the broom, humming against her hands. The broom was no Garson, but it certainly was close enough.

Diana streamed back towards the sapling, feeling her joyride was up as Hannah and Barbara hovered closer to the end point. Her broom skidded to a halt and she hopped off, a delightful buzz flowing throughout her body.

"That was amazing!" Barbara awed.

Hannah nodded. "You went up so high like—" she snapped— "that!"

"Thank-you. I was just having a little fun," Diana said lightly.

"Sure looked like it. Will we enter in the race then?"

"Yeah! You can show everybody else how much better you are!" added Barbara.

Diana nodded humbly and said, "I will, only to fly. Nothing else." She began to walk off, her friends following behind her casually on their brooms.

As Diana began to pass Akko, she heard a soft voice: "That was really amazing, Diana. I wish I could do that too."

She paused as Akko winced, getting to her feet. Diana didn't realize before how many bandages Akko needed until now. It must have been dozens. Though she really couldn't be surprised. Falling fifteen to twenty meters would generally beckon _more_ injuries. Diana sighed as Barbara and Hannah giggled behind her. "It takes time and practice, Akko. What I do doesn't happen immediately."

"You mean you used to not be able to do that?" Diana felt something itch within her chest as Akko stared at her, hope in her eyes; she didn't know quite what it was.

"Really? You're talking to a Cavendish, Akko," Hannah scoffed. "Of course she—"

"Akko, you just need to work for it. That's all I have to say."

Akko furrowed her brows, determined. "Okay! I will. I'm going to fly before you know it!" she promised.

Diana pursed her lips as laughter erupted behind her (including, "Falling doesn't count!"). Despite their tittering, Hannah and Barbara didn't seem to deter Akko's enthusiasm. She strode away with confidence towards where Sucy was flying, her injuries not slowing her pace.

Diana continued her path towards the main campus. She ignored her friends' usual chatter, keeping to herself. Her impassive expression softened, nearly to a grin. Akko, at the very least, amuses her. _She never gives up, does she?_

**. . .**

The next practice came quickly, witches flying across a field rather than from one tower to another. Diana zoomed passed several witches, reaching the marker first with Barbara and Hannah waiting. Barbara squeezed on a stop-watch and grinned. "I'm going to do another one, okay? You don't have to time me for this one, I'm just going to go around," Diana said.

"Alright," Hannah replied with a wave. "I'll come with you later!"

Diana nodded then blasted up. She squinted with the sun in her eyes, then turned at the sound of a whistle. "Amanda! How many times do I have to tell you, no acrobatics!" Amanda, who'd been flying precariously about, groaned and laid on her broom, hovering by Diana.

"Party pooper," she muttered.

"Well, you were pushing it," Diana said.

Amanda rolled her eyes and ran a quick hand through her flaming hair as she sat up. "Oh _please_ , I know you're just like me from watching you speed around like that." Diana arched a brow. "Oh come on. You can't deny it. You're just as much of a daredevil as me."

Diana scoffed, though she didn't deny anything. Instead, she replied, "Well at least I have the patience."

"Uh huh." Amanda folded her arms. Both girls looked down once giggles erupted from down below, and Diana sighed. Akko was on her broom, now with a helmet and training wheels attached to her flying instrument. Amanda chuckled lightly. "She can never catch a break, huh? Anyway, are you racing?"

"Of course."

"Daredevil..."

"Excuse me?"

Amanda waved her hand. "Nothing," she said airily, her eyes trailing Hannah as she flew to meet Diana. "But you won't win. I've already got first place under my belt from last year."

Diana folded her arms and asked, "Is that a challenge?"

Amanda shrugged. "Depends."

With a wry grin, Diana replied, "Oh, then I suppose I won't take it." As she began to drift away, she said, "Good luck on the race, Amanda, you'll need it."

Amanda scowled briefly, then arched a brow once she noticed Hannah lingered. With a devilish smirk, she winked. A light blush bloomed across Hannah's cheeks and she flew after Diana without a word, something that boosted Amanda's ego by a great deal. "I still got it," Amanda snickered. It _had_ been a while since she made a straight girl blush.

"Amanda! You still have to practice your flying!"

She nearly jerked off her broom as she glared down at Nelson. Grumbling, Amanda continued to fly. "Oh that fucking hag... She knows I can fly! Just because I'm put in a first-year class..."

Down below, Akko frowned with her training wheels and helmet, watching the other students longingly. Diana was, of course, in the spotlight, giddy witches clustered around Barbara who held a stop-watch. Diana halted, landing on the ground gracefully with a whip her hair, earning an impressed hum from Professor Nelson. "Now that girl can ride. She's going to win the race for sure."

Akko scowled because she knew she was right. But...

**. . .**

"Why do people _love_ Diana so much! It's not like she's so fantastic!" Akko huffed, storming down the hallway with agitated stomps. Students walked around her, quite used to her antics by now. "Some _other_ people could be better, you know! _And_ Diana even said that I could do it with practice too!" She _hmphed_ and folded her arms, halting in front of a trophy case. "I swear..." She glanced at the trophy case.

"Oh, this must be the winners of the relay from past years," she mumbled. Akko stared into the framed pictures hung within and gasped. Right in the middle was a picture of a red-haired witch excitedly brandishing a trophy with her team looking startled beside her. "Shiny Chariot!" Akko whispered in awe. "She won the race?! Well...if she did, then I can! Wait—" An idea was born. "If I win and beat Diana in the race, then I can show everybody I don't need fucking training wheels to—"

"Akko?"

Atsuko sputtered and twirled around, eyes wide. Professor Ursula stood there with a book in her hand and a confused look. "P-professor! I didn't...um...mean— I didn't see—"

Ursula chuckled and said, "It's okay, Akko. You're looking to enter in the race...?"

Akko nodded slowly. "Yeah. Well, I'm thinking about it."(That wasn't necessarily a lie, though she was thinking of _how_ she could enter rather than if she wanted to in the first place. Her mind was already made up.)

"Oh, well it would be fun to do," the professor said. "Anyway, I brought you something that could help you." She handed the book over and Akko frowned.

"A coloring book?" _My First Broomstick_ , it read in big bubbly rainbow letters across a baby blue (with a baby) cover.

"Well, yes... And it's already colored though. _But_ ," Ursula assured, "I-I know it looks a little childish but I think it could help you—"

"I'm gonna study this all night! Thank-you professor, this is just what I needed!" Akko exclaimed, dashing off with a quest in mind. Professor Ursula stood there in mild shock, watching her student eagerly turn the corner. She chuckled softly and walked the other direction.

Not before glancing at the trophy case, her eyes landing on Chariot. "Oh Akko...there's so much you need to know."

**. . .**

One of the best things about her suite was the stunning view of the campus' courtyard, overlooking the edge of the dense trees and towers that surrounded Luna Nova. Oftentimes Diana would sit with her tea and look out the window, either from her desk or the armchair right beside it, and watch the stars. However, at this particular morning, she'd awoken to curious thumps and yells (and pleads?), urging her tea session to be much earlier than usual. And instead of the luscious forest and great blue sky, her attention was down below where Akko was on her knees, begging to her broom.

"Come on! Please! I need you to race! _Please!_ Come on, please!" she barely heard Akko cry.

 _Maybe I should go and help her._ Diana took a sip of her tea, a small entertained grin spreading; it wasn't ill-natured by any means, but soft. _No. She's doing just fine on her own._ She chuckled to her self as Akko slipped over her broom, somehow managing to bash the handle against her forehead. Her smile grew as Akko laid face-first on the ground, momentarily defeated.

"I've never seen you giggle before." Diana froze and turned to her side. Barbara looked out the window and gave a loud laugh of her own. It wasn't fond like Diana's, but completely and utterly catty. "What is she doing?"

"What?" Hannah strode over from her bed and looked outside. "Is she trying to fly?"

"I guess so. Who doesn't know how to fly? She's a witch!"

"Well..."

At their tittering, Diana's gentle smile subsided. She watched Atsuko solemnly. "Like, I was only three when I first flew!"

She frowned to herself as Hannah proclaimed, "Wow! Me too!" 

If only if it was that easy for her—and for Akko. Diana continued to stare down as Akko cradled her broom, knowing full well what she was saying. After all, it hadn't been that long ago when she did the same thing. Hell, Diana remembered for her birthday, she even _prayed_ to have the chance to hover. By that time, she could do some magic, but unlike a new pony or a fancy dress, all Diana wanted to have for her tenth birthday was to fly. She could ride a horse. She could run freely. She could swim to her hearts content. Her frown creased; she could even slither. But fly? Blasphemy.

Until, that is, she got her birthday wish.

"Hey, how old were you when you first flew, Diana?"

She blinked at Barbara and Hannah for a moment, both watching her eagerly. In their eyes were pride and sheer, unjust awe; their stares were what Diana supposed a younger sibling would look at her like. "Well..." she murmured slowly. Diana couldn't watch them grow disappointed. Even if they could be obnoxious with their support for Diana, and perhaps aggressive, she couldn't deny that they were the first who revere her in the way they did; she wasn't just some perfectly-bred foal with highly-esteemed stallion and mare as parents. Well, perhaps she was, but Diana didn't have to prove to them that she was more.

"Well," she repeated, unable to meet their expectations, "I wasn't...three." They gasped at one another, and Diana immediately knew her mistake. Nevertheless, she let them take her reply as they wanted to and continued to watch outside. Akko was trying again, looking back to her book.

Diana didn't frankly believe she would be able to fly for the race. _But...I'd like to see that._ Diana pursed her lips and took another sip from her tea. Yes, she'd like to see that. If not for Akko, or for her then, but for the nearly-ten-year-old who just wanted to fly and not just ride, run, swim or slither. For the nearly-ten-year-old who didn't have to meet anybody's expectations aside from her own.

Diana walked to her desk and sat down, pulling out her notes from several classes.

For the nearly-ten-year-old who's now long-gone, previously suppressed until she had heard a strange thump outside her window, and saw a struggling Akko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little update on the planning for this story thus far: I have 25 chapters (including the two, now three, chapters published) as working drafts for this story. Within these chapters, we'll cover the "first season" of the show (basically up until Croix comes into play), the 2013 short-film and The Enchanted Parade. I'm quite thrilled with myself, honestly.
> 
> Also, ignore the chapter count. No, I'm not going to go into the millions. But for the time being, that's what's going to be done. I mean...come on...69 420 69. It's great.
> 
> That aside, hope you enjoyed!  
> :)


	4. Part I. Racing Witches [Ep. #3]

She groaned, rubbing her forehead with the broom in between her legs. Even a few minutes after, her head still hurt like hell. Akko sighed and snapped, "Tia freyre!"

And...nothing.

"Why you fuckin—"

"I kind of had a hunch before...but she's really a dumbass."

Akko froze and craned her neck to the side. Sucy and Lotte both stood there, watching her contently. "Sucy!" Akko barked. "We can't win if you're making fun of me!"

"You know I don't actually care about the race, right?" Sucy countered.

"But you're competing too!" Akko marched over with a slip of official paper in her hand (a stamp, signature and everything) with a smug grin. "I already registered our team!"

"I-I never agreed to this!" Lotte protested.

Sucy crossed her arms. "Well I'll just forfeit."

"You can't do that! We have to win first place so that we can have our photo put right next to Shiny Chariot's!" Akko exclaimed.

Lotte studied the official paper closely. "Wow, it looks like the winners of the championship receive a trophy and a prize from Professor Lukić."

"Oh?" Sucy eyed the paper closely. "Lukić, huh?"

"Of course _now_ you're interested..." Akko grumbled, the professor's laugh sending shivers down her spine. "Even so, I wonder what the prize is."

"I bet it's something really cool," Sucy fawned.

Lotte nodded. "Yeah, but I can't Akko. I don't have my broom, remember?"

Akko tilted her head and asked, "Well when do you get it?"

"Oh, uh..." Lotte blinked. "Actually...today."

"Really?! So that means you can race?"

Lotte sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm heading to the magical item café right now to pick it up, now that I think of it."

"You go do that, I'm going to study the mushroom I found last week," Sucy said, strolling towards the double doors.

Akko picked up her broom and book. "Magical item café? What's that?"

Lotte chuckled. "Do you wanna come with?" Akko nodded exaggeratively.

**. . .**

And while Akko did enjoy the nice walk into town, her eyes wandering along the buildings and fluffy clouds, "You know, a broom would've gotten us here faster."

Lotte chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, but we can't use magic out here. The energy of the sorcerer's stone doesn't reach town."

Akko hummed to herself, side-stepping to get out of a hurried-looking man's way. "So...what's the magic item café again?"

"They're an all-purpose magic store that sells and repairs magical items," Lotte explained, "and they even serve you tea." Atsuko grinned excitedly before slamming into another person. As she apologized profusely, Lotte asked, "Amanda? What are you doing here?"

"Uh?" Amanda, who Akko now recognized as another student, turned around. She was quite charming in looks, especially since her lime green eyes clashed with her rich red hair; though, despite that, her smirk was one of a trickster's and her eyes were that of a fox's. "Oh. I'm just picking up some things for the race," she answered simply. "See you two later."

With that, Amanda left Akko and Lotte at a brisk, determined pace. "I don't like the sound of that," Lotte murmured, although amused. "She's scheming."

"Does she always do that?" Akko asked.

Lotte shrugged. "Yeah. I don't really know too much about her though. She's a year above us, I think. We only have her for our electives."

"Ah. I see." She looked around and pointed ahead. "Is that it? The...'Last Wednesday Society'?"

Lotte nodded. "Yup. That's it." 

As they made their way closer, Akko frowned. The shop was decorated in grotesque and stereotypically witchy things—which, the more she thought about it, was more in Lukić's style. Essentially, if it wasn't dead, it was swirling around in a jar. And if it wasn't tattered, worn or dusty, it was profusely tacky. She pointed at the shop, unimpressed; "Really?" she mumbled. Lotte could only shrug.

With a jingle of a bell, they stepped inside the shop. As Akko began to look around, Lotte pulled out a small slip of paper. "Welcome!" the shop owner replied. He was a round man with a small beard reserved for his chin and shoulder-length brunette hair. He smiled as Lotte stepped up to the counter.

"Hi," she replied, handing him the paper. "I was wondering if my broom was ready."

He took the piece of paper and scanned it. "Let's see... Yeah, it should be. Just a minute." The shop owner fixed his nametag (because the damn thing never stayed on properly) labelled "Jared". Jared strode to the back of the shop, leaving Lotte to watch Akko curiously.

"So where's the café?" Akko asked, looking around. Lotte pointed to a rather pathetic excuse of a café, a cobweb spindled around a couple of stools' legs. Akko deflated. "...talk about false advertisement," she grumbled, prompting a light chuckle from Lotte. She then turned towards a rack of potions reading, "'Juice that turns you into a frog-leg,' and this makes you a chameleon tongue? Who would want this?" 

The rattle of metal tore her attention towards the back wall. She blinked, not exactly sure as of what she was looking at. There was a broom fidgeting in chains, trembling against the tall cage-like case that contained it. A red-tipped arrowhead dawned its top with the broom bristles long and warm in color. Curiously, Akko stepped closer with Lotte following her.

"A broom?"

Lotte fixed her glasses. "It looks so familiar." She glanced to the side of the cage where a newspaper clipping was proudly framed and hung. She gasped. "It's the legendary Broom-Shooting Star!"

"I've never heard of it," Akko said, intrigued.

"Long ago, there once was a witch wo crossed the pacific ocean riding on a broom," Lotte explained excitedly. "It flew without the aid of the sorcerer's stone. This broom supplied it's own source of magical energy, and it flew just like a shooting star!"

"So there _are_ ways to fly without the sorcerer's stone..." Akko stared at the Shooting Star in wonder. "A broom with it's own magical powers," she murmured. Atsuko gripped the cage bars determinedly, and stated firmly, "Dibs."

"Whoa, hey!" Jared stepped out from the back room and handed Lotte her new broom. "Don't touch the merch! That broom is _off-limits_ ," he emphasized.

"For reals?"

"Yeah," confirmed Jared. "That thing's just way too dangerous to ride. It'll keep flying even if you fall off it. But thanks to this lock here, even if this broom escapes, it'll get pulled back." He chuckled a bit. "Tragic, huh? Anyway, if it ever got loose, the boss—" he pointed his thumb to his chest— "wouldn't be too happy."

Akko, with an excited grin and a fox-like gleam in her eye, clutched her hands together. "So it goes super fast?"

Jared chuckled. "I've heard it goes faster than a speeding bullet," he stated proudly.

"Great! Let me borrow it!" Akko said. 

As Jared blinked in surprise, rubbing his tattoo on his forearm, Lotte gasped, "Akko!"

"If I had it, not only will I be able to fly, I would be able to win the broom relay!" Akko then pled, "I only need it for a day!"

"Hang on...you can't be serious," Jared said, unamused.

"As a matter of fact, I'm quite serious."

He waved a large hand. "Don't be silly. There's nobody alive that can ride that crazy thing." With a chuckle as Lotte picked up a newspaper, Jared declared, "Diana is gonna win the competition this year, hands-down."

Lotte read from the newspaper, "In this author's 'most humble opinion, the most popular rider is without a doubt Diana Cavendish..."

" _Huh?!_ " Akko folded her arms and scowled. "Diana this Diana that."

Lotte arched a brow. "You did say she was a really good rider yesterday. _And_ you watched her for the better part of two hours."

"So?! What does that have to do with anything?!"

Both Jared and Lotte shared an identical glance.

"So...can I borrow it?"

"No!"

**. . .**

At the edge of New Moon tower, recent events quickly came to mind. Akko avoided looking down the tower the best she could as Sucy fastened the end of a strong bungee rope to the railing. And what was more, Akko was at the other end of that rope, tied to her broom. "Why are we doing this, again?!" she asked, frantically. It was a beautiful day. Not so much for a day to die, but one to watch the clouds or watch Diana. Or study too. Or— _Wait, watch Diana? What the hell?_

Sucy's smirk brought Akko out of her confused thoughts. "Because in order to win, you actually need to be able to ride a broom," Sucy answered simply. Atsuko stared at her warningly. "I think it's best if you jump into the pool, completely head-first." She booped her nose.

Akko staggered backwards and she was off, then up, then down, then up and then down at terrifying speeds. All the way she was screaming horrible words that would have her mother whip her with a belt at home; if she knew English that well, anyway. Lotte chuckled. "She really doesn't hold back, huh?"

"...YOU FUCKING CUNT I'LL BEAT YOUR ASS WHEN I GET BACK UP THERE AND THEN YOU FUCKING WILL..."

Sucy smirked, watching Akko, completely entertained. "I got to say, she's getting really creative."

"...YOU'RE JUST A PIECE OF SHIT SUCY! YOU'RE JUST A PIECE OF SHIT..."

"And it's a nice touch that we can't hear half of it."

"I HOPE YOU FUCKING EAT SHIT AND LIVE, SUCY!"

At that line, Lotte and Sucy completely lost their composure and howled with laughter against the railing. "Oh my god," Sucy snorted, "she can't be serious."

"I HATE YOU ALL!"

"I think she is," Lotte laughed.

"Oh, but it's only the beginning."

And so it was. Sucy had made the whole schedule that evening, you see. At quarter 'til three, Akko was slammed into a cannon and shot across the campus with her broom tied around her waist. (It kind of(?) worked like the bungee jump.) At half-past four, Akko scrambling between Lotte's new broom and Sucy's, dangling with her own holding herself up by a tarp tied to her friends' brooms. (Not very successful, Sucy could admit, though Akko's constant bitching was more than enough to give her joy.) Then there was dragging her behind a very good rider (Sucy) close to the ground so that Akko would have constant support (to the face). That was at five sharp. Oh, and how could Sucy forget Akko hurling herself off the end of her broom in a vain attempt of catching flight.

Well, she did, but barreling face-first to the ground below was not considered to be flying by even Lotte's standards.

"Can we stop now?!" Akko whined, sporting new bandages. She blinked up at her two friends as her broom was tossed to her lap.

Sucy grinned. "Go on, try it now."

"Yeah!" Lotte smiled. "Let's see if you can fly now!"

Awkwardly (since she landed on her ass what felt like an infinite amount of times), Akko got to her feet and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it couldn't hurt!" She prepped herself up and held her broom tightly. "Tia freyre!"

The world was still.

Nothing.

Growling, Akko got off her broom and slammed it on the ground with a hardy, "God dammit!" The broom, as it turns out, didn't appreciate that and bounced, promptly whacking her in the face.

Sucy and Lotte sighed collectively before the former muttered, "Does she have _any_ chance of flying? Well..." She shrugged and started trudging back towards the school. "Back to the drawing board."

**. . .**

The sun was shining, the clouds were fluffy and the sky was a perfect blue. The breeze was gentle, far from intimidating. In short, Diana thought it was a perfect day for flying. And, of course, a perfect day for racing as well.

Everybody was clustered in front of Headmistress Holbrook as she gave her brief speech: "We will soon begin the 1333rd Luna Nova cup broom relay! In addition to earning prestige for themselves, the winning team shall also win the special prize from our very own Professor Lukić!" She smiled pleasantly and said, "Now then, good luck to you all!"

With that, the students disbanded and began to stretch, readying themselves with their brooms. Diana watched everybody, though her attention kept drifting back towards Akko. _So she really is racing._

A squeak of a microphone rang throughout the air. "HELLO AND WELCOME BROOM-RELAY FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! THIS IS LUNA NOVA NEWS NETWORK WITH A SPECIAL REPORT!" Wangari shouted. "THE STAGE IS SET," she added dramatically, "AND ALL OF THE RIDERS ARE READY FOR AN EPIC SHOWDOWN!"

Diana barely caught Lotte saying, "They look so athletic!" Akko was visibly peeved, crossing her arms and briefly running a hand over her biceps. Diana arched a brow.

"Oh! And over here is the dark horse, Amanda O'Neil!" Diana turned towards the green team and saw Amanda leaning against a shaky crate cloaked in white. Diana narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and she saw she wasn't the only one; Akko stared as well, lips pursed. "How are you feeling?"

Nonchalantly, Amanda answered, "Oh, I'm just looking to have a good time." The box rustled aggressively, to which she snapped, "Hey, chill out would you?" At Wangari's puzzled stare, she said, "Oh...It's nothing, really."

Over Amanda's shoulder and passed the red team, Wangari made eye-contact with Diana. She grew excited, and Diana sighed. _Here we go._

"COULD IT BE?!" Wangari gasped. She bolted across the field, leaving her assistance to scramble after her. "IT'S OUR VERY OWN DIANA! Any words for us?"

Diana thought for a moment, then replied as Hannah and Barbara smiled at the camera, "I just want to fly like I always do. Nothing more, nothing less."

"WELL THERE YOU GO! DIANA JUST WANTS TO FLY LIKE ALWAYS!"

Over another loudspeaker, Nelson hollered for all the racers. Diana bowed her head politely and lead Hannah and Barbara towards the podium. They stood in a straight line, Hannah in front, Barbara in between leaving Diana at the back. Once Nelson was satisfied with the line-up, she put away her magical megaphone and crossed her arms. "For this race, you'll be flying Luna Nova's elite course! Don't forget to go to the sorcerer's stone to charge up! The primary rider must remember to check that the baton is secured!" Hannah nodded dutifully as several other primary riders did. "If the baton is damaged, lost or not passed, the team will be disqualified! Now, primary riders, get to position!" Nelson pointed to her side then to the other. "Secondary and tertiary riders, you too!"

Once again, the racer disbanded from the podium, though now they were eager to get to the tall, wooden checkpoints (for tertiary riders, the New Moon tower) instead of stretch or chatter in the large field. Diana mounted her broom after a minute of walking, murmured, "Tia freyre," and flew casually towards the tower. She passed Akko who sprinted with the riders flying beside her, a determined brow furrowed. _At least she's quite the runner,_ Diana admitted to herself before flying ahead. Hannah and Barbara lagged behind, and she could only imagine what they were saying.

Within a few minutes, Akko's troubles with Hannah and Barbara were not at the forefront of her mind as she landed on New Moon tower's designated broom landing. Unsurprisingly, some were chattering about Akko's running rather than flying. Diana paid no mind, leaning against the railing and watched birds fly off in the distance.

She turned around once Amanda emerged from the tower, breath heavy and hands rubbing one another. Diana arched a brow and received a cheeky grin. She wasn't the only one out-of-breath, Diana found. Akko came panting up the stairs, and Diana was mildly impressed for the time it took her to catch up. With a breath of finality, Akko stepped towards the platform and waited beside Diana. "Y-you're actually racing, Akko?" Diana heard another student ask.

She arched a brow while Diana continued keeping an eye out intensely. "Well, yeah, I am." Akko scowled as she heard brief whispers ("At least I won't be at last place...") and folded her arms.

The starting shot for the race clipped through the air. Curiously, Diana asked, "Did you learn how to fly already?"

Akko glanced towards her, scratching her shoulder. "Well... I mean, I practiced a bunch and stuff..."

Wangari's loud commentary interrupted their short conversation: "WHAT A WAY TO START THE RACE! THEIR BROOMS AREN'T TAKING OFF!"

"W- _what?_ "

"How?"

Diana blinked in surprise. "CURRENTLY, FIRST PLACE BELONGS TO LOTTE YANSON!"

She narrowed her eyes and watched Akko closely. "Do _you_ know anything about this?" Akko shrugged, just as bewildered as everybody around her.

"AND TRAILING CLOSELY BEHIND LITTLE MISS FOUR-EYES IN CONSTANZE AMALIE VON BRAUNSCHBANK-ALBRECHTSBERGER! WOW THAT'S A MOUTHFUL! AH—uh...? Is that even...a broom...?"

She sighed and rubbed her temple. This race was not going smoothly, despite it being a good day. Diana watched Akko for a brief second. _Trouble always seems to follow her, doesn't it?_ Atsuko glanced at her, sending Diana to jerk her eyes away. She swallowed. "So—"

"WOW! CONSTANZE IS NOW PLAYING THE LEAD!"

"—what did you do to practice then?"

"Oh, well, I bungeed off this tower with my broom on my back," Akko answered nonchalantly.

Diana stared. She wasn't kidding, was she? She's kidding. Akko's eyes were back on her, a grin playing her lips. She noted the charming dimple that creased her cheek. _She's not kidding,_ Diana determined. Playfully, she murmured, "Oh is that all?"

"Nope." Akko held out her hand and counted: "I bungeed off this tower, I shot myself out of a cannon, I was tied between Lotte and Sucy's brooms, and I jumped off of Sucy's broom with my broom...and..."

_Fucking hell, Akko._

"BATON PASS-POINT, THE FIRST ONE TO ARRIVE IS MECHANIC-FANATIC CONSTANZE!"

Diana whipped her attention towards the second point. _What is taking so long, Hannah?_ She fidgeted. A greed-full need blossomed in her chest. There was an itch. A rare, angry itch. She wanted to win. She wanted the wind to streak across her cheeks. She wanted to fly uncontrolled—no chains, no anything.

"THAT WAS A NICE PASS TO SUCY! AND DOMINATING FIRST PLACE IS THE FOOD-FIGHTER OF THE MAGIC WORLD, JASMINKA ANTONEKO! CALM AND COMPOSED AS EVER!"

Akko giggled beside her, and Diana frowned. "What's so funny?"

She shrugged and answered, "It's just, I don't know. It's entertaining."

Diana hummed. "I suppose..." she admitted.

"OH NO! WHAT HAPPENED?! JASMINKA IS GOING OFF-COURSE!"

"But what _is_ happening?!" Diana asked. Akko could only shrug. Both glance at Amanda as she crept into the tower, sly eyes wandering to the left and right. She sighed and gripped her broom. All of the riders listened carefully for the announcements, the broom landing now near-silent with some conversations floating about. Abruptly, something whistled out of the tower, and only Akko and Diana seemed to have noticed. Akko frowned, once again just as suspicious as Diana was.

"THE POISONOUS MUSHROOM QUEE, SUCY, HAS JUMPED FAR AHEAD FROM ALL THE OTHER RACERS!"

"Wha— Oh! Sucy! Over here!" Akko jumped, waving her arms. Diana gawped as Sucy snickered, handing the baton over successfully.

_She...she..._

Akko chuckled, whipping out a potion (crafted by Sucy, Diana was sure) and poured it on the brush of the broom. It jerked to life, the end of her broom now a...leg? _What the hell?_ Diana watched Sucy land on the ground below, now undoubtedly sure that she was the source of all the trouble—

Diana froze, then swiveled her head towards Akko who was _now fucking-hoppingoffofthetower._ What. The. Hell. Was. Going. On?! "Disgraceful!" Diana snapped, "I'd hardly call that flying!" But, of course, how would one learn to fly by recklessly jumping off a tower with a rope?

"NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF LUNA NOVA CUP HAVE I SEEN AN ILLEGAL FROG JUMP! THIS IS SURE TO MAKE THE COMPETITION HOPPING MAD!"

Her jaw tensed and Diana twisted around. "God— What's taking so long?!" Her heart pounded. Her gut twisted. _Akko just might win this if —She smiled, Barbara, panicked, racing around the bend. Her eager hands trembled with anticipation as she hopped on her broom, hovering forward as Barbara sped passed her._

_ But the baton was in her hands. "Finally..." Diana surged forward, the wind crisp against her. How long had time been wasted? It felt like only a few minutes, but she couldn't see Akko anywhere? _Come on, come on..._ Diana wanted to win desperately, she found. Not just fly, but she wanted to win. And it wasn't like she cared for a trophy or picture or Lukić's prize either. _

_ "AND FINALLY DIANA CAVENDISH IS IN THE RACE!" _

_ She sped forward, though her eyes danced around for Akko. _Where is she? How far did she make it?!_ _

_ Diana scowled, though she couldn't help but feel energized. This was a race, wasn't it? Her broom buzzed against her palms. This was a race and not some easy ride... _

**. . .**

"Ribbit."

Hopping on a broom was delightful, and a pleasant surprise considering entertainment value.

"Ribbit."

Despite not actually riding the broom properly, Akko laughed, hopping and hopping across the track.

"Ribbit."

And to think she was in first place.

"Ri—" 

A gush of wind blasted passed her, knocking her to the ground with its rattling ringing in her ears. _Wait a second._ "Huh?" Akko peeled herself from the dirt and looked up. "Is that...?" There was something zipping through the sky, a long chain trailing behind it. And it was coming right for her. With eyes wide, she raised her hand and briefly felt the chain rip through her palm before she snatched it. Immediately (and unsurprisingly), she was yanked off her feet and hoisted up in the air. With an excited smirk, Akko climbed the chain and pulled herself on the speeding broom. "I knew it! The Shooting Star! I actually found— _FUCKING—"_

She was bucked off, her hand still tight around the chain. "Oh no you don't!" she barked, sprinting after it. Akko clambered over the race course's obstacles and hurled herself back on the broom, her hands gripping the steel bars until her knuckles grew white. This time, she didn't fall off.

But she did do a loop or two (or five) in the air. And she plummeted through trees. And she crashed into a house. And she circled a plane. And— Where the fuck was she going?

"HEY YOU DUMB FUCKING—" The broom tossed and turned. " _ACK!_ OKAY, OKAY! YOU'RE NOT DUMB! BUT COME ON!" Akko shouted. "WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE BACK TO THE RACE!"

Disgruntled, the broom steered its way towards Luna Nova's relay, just in time for an announcement: "AND FINALLY DIANA CAVENDISH IS IN THE RACE!"

Akko scowled. Though, she should have known better. It wouldn't have been long until Diana caught up. She cursed to herself as the broom spun, then yelped as a flock of birds were right in front of her. "Ah! Get out— GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

It was no use. The broom was set on it's path, with or without Akko. She took a goose to the gut. So, without Akko.

She swore to the broom every name she could think of (cunt being the most popular followed by fuckin'), the wind slapping all the nicks and scratches she gathered in the last however-many-minutes she was racing. Akko was about to unleash quite the motherload of obscenities when a firm hand caught her forearm. She blinked and looked up. "D-Diana?"

"You really have a sailor's mouth, don't you?" Diana grunted, easing Akko gently to the ground.

With light pink cheeks, Akko murmured, "Thanks Diana."

Diana nodded and said, "My debt has been paid off."

"Debt...?"

"You're all scratched and bruised. You can go call the support team since it doesn't look like you'll be finishing the race without a broom," Diana continued. Without another word, she tore off, eager to get back to the relay.

"Broom... That's right!" She looked around her and grinned. This patch of field was definitely familiar. Now where was that damn cannon... "Ah! There you are!" She hurriedly rushed towards the trees and pushed the wheeled cannon furiously, aiming for the spaz-of-a-broom still spazzing about in the sky in a spasmic way. "Oh you're not getting away that easily!" she snapped, hurling herself into the cannon as it continued to roll forward. Covering her ears as best she could, Akko ignited the cannon's fuse with her wand and blasted herself to the sky.

With a devil's grin, she snatched the Shooting Star from the air and balled a fist around the chain. She tightened it around her waist, securing herself to the broom. If she was going to fall, it was going to fall with her. "A few scratches aren't going to scare me off!" she hissed. "I'm going to finish this race with you, whether you like it or not!"

The broom didn't object any further.

**. . .**

She surpassed the racers, leaving them behind easily. 

"DIANA THE COOL BEAUTY IS NOW IN THE LEAD OF THIS UNPREDICTABLE RACE! CAN SHE MANAGE TO HOLD ON?!"

Diana grinned to herself. So she was. And better yet, it was somewhat of an obstacle to manage. It wasn't served to her on a platter nor a path made easy for her. Briefly she glanced over her shoulder as something thundered behind her. _Was that...a cannon?_ She frowned.

"OH! SOMETHING'S COMING! COULD IT BE?!" Diana looked over her shoulder again and squinted. There was indeed something coming with fervent determination.

_Is that...? Is that really—_

"AKKO'S ACTUALLY FLYING ON A BROOM!"

Diana's heart pounded erratically. "A-Akko?!" she charged forward, her attention locked-on in front of her. Diana couldn't keep her eyes off of the finish line, especially since it was so close. She heard Akko trail behind her, and then Amanda's angry yells. Diana didn't listen to their arguing as she clipped the tops of the trees, all too eager to mind the branches with her energy focused solely on the checkered flags several long meters before her.

"IN THIRD PLACE IS THE DARK HORSE, THE REBELLIOUS AMANDA!" Diana was close enough to hear cheers of a crowd, kept to the side as they waited for the victor. "OH! AMANDA'S DISQUALIFIED! SHE FAILD THE BATON PASS! TOO BAD THIS WASN'T A DONUT-PASSING RELAY!"

Panicked at the sound of another broom, Diana briefly glanced to her side. Akko. Right there. _Go. Go. Go, Diana!_ She grit her teeth and leaned forward, urging her broom to do the same. Its spirit was now determined, though Diana knew it had nothing on the Shooting Star. _How does she have that anyway?! What the hell is going on?!_

"WHAT A CRAZY TURN OF EVENTS! IT'S MONO-E-MONO BETWEEN DIANA AND AKKO! IT'S NECK-AND-NECK! THEY'RE CLOSING IN ON THE FINISH LINE!"

 _Come on, come on, come on!_ both witches internally chorused. _I need more speed!_

Akko looped around Diana, barely able to control the Shooting Star. Her palms were sweating, and she nearly slipped. Something creaked and snapped, and Akko was jerked backwards. _The bolts. Where did they go?_ She grunted and wriggled about as the chain unwrapped itself around her waist. Akko hissed before she was torn off, the metal bars abruptly snapping off.

"OH NO! AKKO FELL OFF!"

She could only watch as the Shooting Star unleashed its winged-straw, flying freely to the sky. Akko tumbled across the field, her skin burning and joints aching. _Diana's going to win..._ she briefly thought. _Did it just want to be free...? Without chains holding it down?_

"DIANA'S GOING TO MAKE IT!"

Akko laid there, watching the sky in wonder. The race meant nothing now. What significance did it have compared to the Shooting Star, which soared to the clouds without any expectations or confinement?

"SHE— SHE...!"

**. . .**

She did it.

Diana managed to beat Akko.

Her broom slammed to a halt before she could ram herself into the school, her feet stomping to the ground forcefully. Diana's breathing was heavy, and she wiped the bead of sweat dripping down her jaw. She tore off her hat and sighed, her wind-swept hair wild and victorious. _Now that was a race._ She turned around as a crowd began to gather by the finish line, several long meters behind her. Diana chuckled softly, patting the wall of the school.

She really was close to bashing her head through bricks.

Diana fixed her hair the best she could as she strolled towards where Akko fell, remaining spread-eagle on the ground. Hopefully she wouldn't call for too much attention immediately, if she walked quiet enough.

Which was an impossibility given that she was one of the tallest in her grade, for one thing.

Sucy and Lotte, who were at Akko's side, looked up. Diana was at Akko's feet, able to lift her gaze from the sky. "Diana...? Oh." Akko blinked and put her head back on the dry patch of grass. "Did you win then?"

"I did," Diana confirmed.

"Did you come to gloat?" Akko asked, her voice detached. 

Diana gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head. She knew Akko didn't think so either; her eyes were still glued to the sky in wonderment. "Actually," she said, reaching out your hand, "you gave me an eventful race." Akko widened her eyes in surprise, sitting up.

"Huh? Didn't you want to win?"

She took Diana's hand and got to her feet. "I didn't care, though I would be lying if I said I wasn't under the impression it would be easy." Akko blinked for a moment as Diana gripped her broom with both hands. "I'm glad I was mistaken." She turned around and left Akko to stare after her, Lotte and Sucy by her side.

"What...just happened?"

Lotte murmured, "I think she just thanked you."

"What?! _Really?!_ "

"Yeah," Sucy added, "I think she just wanted a good race."

Akko hummed to herself and looked back up to the sky. _Is that so?_ she asked herself. Then she turned her attention to Diana, who was surrounded by excited fans; from what Akko could tell, she was expressionless once again, sunk back into her thoughts. Looking as perfect as ever. Where Akko had cuts and bruises littering her skin, Diana's hair was kept clean, skin unblemished like she barely took a step outside. _Did she just want...?_ Atsuko frowned. She was going to rough her up a bit more, if that were the case.

**. . .**

Her frozen picture held a long, golden trophy in her hand with a broom in the other, both Hannah and Barbara grinning at her sides proudly. Diana stood on the other side of the glass, gazing at her picture alone with the trophy case. Hannah and Barbara left nearly twenty minutes ago, eager to go to Avery's celebratory mini-party (which was planned a couple days prior).

Diana frowned. _Cavendish._ What a name. With everything that her family had put behind it—things that _were_ to be prideful of—she still could not escape. They expected her to win, and she did. Even going as far as planning days in advance. But Akko... What would've happened if she won? She was damn close, wasn't she?

At steps wandering towards her, Diana paused her internal dialogue. Ursula came by the trophy case with a smile. "Congrats on winning," she said softly. Diana glanced at her with a polite smile of her own. "I really didn't expect Miss Kagari to come in second, considering her inexperience."

 _Yes. She did come in second, didn't she?_ Diana couldn't resist the smile to deepen, her curiosity surrounding Akko consuming her. "I was surprised as well," she stated, backing away from the case. "At least she's not lacking in enthusiasm." That was what drove her to fly neck-and-neck with Diana, she knew. That alone.

Diana strolled off, enraptured. _If Akko actually had the ability, would she have...?_ She gave a relaxed breath. _Perhaps._ Her smile faltered and she glanced at the floor sadly. _If only she wanted to learn_ true _magic, and not whatever Chariot conjured. Now that would be something..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akko may not ride a broom, but damn did she have good form running. And I'm not kidding. It's not perfect, since she's holding a broom, but like... You cannot tell me she isn't an athlete.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> :)


	5. Part I. Try-Hard Witches [Ep. #5/OVA(ish)]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so...a little different from canon in this chapter, and the next will be what really sets the canon story and mine apart. :D
> 
> Hope you enjoy!  
> :)

_"Don't you go anywhere, okay honey?" Her smile was gentle, and if Diana had been any older, she would have caught on to her tired eyes and uneven breaths. "Mummy's going to go and get some water, okay?"_

_Diana nodded with a small wand in her hand. She watched her mother stride back to the mansion, settled on a wide patch-work blanket. She giggled as a dragonfly buzzed passed. Closing her eyes, she gathered all of her focus and watched a squirrel, determined. Diana raised her wand, wincing as she clutched it tightly; she scraped her hand the day before once playing around with her broom. She said the incantation that her mother taught her, but to no avail._

_The squirrel was a squirrel. Nothing more. Nothing less._

_Sadly, Diana sat back down and set her wand to the side, pouting. She watched the squirrel, who eyed her back curiously. If only Diana could focus properly. She grimaced, then clutched her chest. It had been the third day in a row, and even with all of her mother's attention, nothing came out of the healing spells._

_Diana gripped the blanket and felt her eyes grow teary. "I can't do magic. I can't get better. I'm never going to be a witch," she whined. "Ow...ow..." The squirrel crept forward tentatively, concerned, before she looked up. It froze and backed slowly away._

_Diana watched the squirrel, the pain in her chest shrouding her thoughts. Or, rather, they morphed into those that weren't her own. She was hungry, the thoughts claimed. She needed to eat. This would be her first._ _And suddenly, without any warning, her body shuddered and Diana was close to the ground, watching the squirrel at eye-level. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move her arms or legs. Just her spine. Diana lurched towards the squirrel, which bolted away towards the trees._

_"Diana!"_

_She whipped around at the sound of her name. Diana's mother stood there, eyes wide. "Oh my god... I was sure it would be one of Daryl's girls... I can't do this without you, mum," she whispered quietly. Diana raised herself, desperately wishing to ease her mother's pain, which was now more obvious that just tired eyes. "Honey...Diana, listen to me." Diana stepped—no, it wasn't a step, really, but she moved forward. "No, no! Don't do that." Diana halted. "Listen to me, sweetie... Calm down. Just...just calm yourself and try to...to undo what you just did."_

_Diana watched her mother, unblinking. She couldn't blink either. And she couldn't hear her mother, not like the few minutes prior. "Diana...listen." Bernadette patted the blanket as she crouched down. "Don't move, just undo...can you do that?" Diana lowered herself. "There we go...come on...you can do it." She felt herself unravel—or, rather, collect herself once more._

Mummy? _she thought as her joints crackled and muscles buzzed._ Why is Mummy sad? _Diana looked up at her mother. "Mummy," she said, "did I do something wrong?"_

_"N-no...sweetie," Bernadette gingerly said. "No. It was out of your control. I'm just...at a loss, dear."_

_"Mummy, what happened?"_

_"Nothing you need to worry about now."_

_"But Mummy?"_

Diana grunted, twisting in her sheets.

_"Not now, dear."_

She gasped, the ache in her chest exploding with pain. She sat herself up in a cold sweat, rubbing between her collar bones.

_"Why don't we have some tea?" her mother added. "You worked so hard on your magic today."_

Diana rubbed her temple, clinging onto the memory, or dream, as best she could.

_"Okay..."_

It began to fade away, however, alike the rest of her consciousness. She staggered out of bed, clutching her chair for support. Diana fought against herself and stepped on the creaky board by her bookshelf. She gazed at the two beds across the room, her thoughts drugged. She swallowed. _Eat._ Diana crept back into the shadows of her own space. _Eat._ _Eat..._

Hannah frowned in her sleep before groggily picking herself up. What was that noise? Was somebody else in the room? She looked across the suite, only to find nothing there. But there was _something_ since she heard movement. It was continuous, and there wasn't any steps. She glanced out of the dorm and sighed, then went back to sleep.

The janitors must be cleaning a large load of trash and were dragging it across the hallway.

Yes, that was it.

**. . .**

Diana groaned. She blinked and propped herself up, gazing out of the window. The sun was barely up, a sliver peeking over the trees. Why did she wake up? Diana tried to swallow, but gagged instead. She clutched her throat and gagged again. With stumbling steps, she quickly made her way to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. With the lights on, Diana stood in front of the mirror and clutched the sink.

 _No..._ The color of her eyes was exaggerated, and dry red dyed the corner of her lips. _No, not again. Not again..._ Diana choked and heaved into the sink. Watery pink dribbled from her mouth. She opened wide and stuck her finger to the back of her tongue. She gagged violently, and felt a clump of something shift in her throat. She repeated the process. It had to get out, whatever the hell it was. Again. The grip around the sink with her free hand was unrelenting. Again. Again and again until she felt the clump slide out from her mouth and into the sink bowl. 

It wasn't over.

She coughed, blood and tissue spraying the sink until she hacked-up small pieces of bone. Diana shuddered and leaned to the corner of the sink, averting her eyes from her sin. She despised how her body reveled in the taste in her mouth. The blood and bone weren't hers, nor the clump of mass and feathers. It had been a while since this happened, and a while longer since she couldn't digest anything.

With a guilty and sorrowful expression, she cleaned up the mess and the sink and stuffed it in the garbage bin. She sat at the edge of the bath, head resting on her wrists because God forbid her touch the dried blood at the ends of her fingertips. She heaved a shaken breath and thought her next steps over. Even if the trashcans would be cleaned that morning, as they always were, she couldn't possibly leave the poor thing in there like that. Not if Hannah and Barbara noticed anything before the janitors disposed of it.

She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.

Diana deserved no right to be a Cavendish. That, she claimed to herself, was a fact.

**. . .**

"Listen up, class!" The professor tapped her wand on her podium, alerting everybody to the front fo the room. Even Akko was attentive (though, that wouldn't be a surprise after the first day of school when her head smacked against the desk). And a few rows above her sat Diana, feathered pen ready and notebook open. "For the rest of today, we will take a break from the Renaissance itself and discuss the research explored during this time. Much of what we know about our lesson today _comes_ from dedicated witches and wizards of the Renaissance who researched the magical world around them aside from chemistry and science in general.

"Because the textbook does not cover this to the extent I would want to, there will be no need for them." There was a collective sigh of relief. "Now, today we will be discussing a very mysterious type of witch—and wizard for the matter—that possess abilities that require no magical energy." Diana frowned and her attention perked. "Not much is known about these witches, but it is important to know of them. Does...anybody have any clue of what I speak of?"

The professor studied the room. "No one...?" She smiled. "Well then, that means there will be a lot of learning today." She flicked her wand and the blackboard behind her was brought to life with scriptures and Renaissance sketches of—what Diana assumed to be—the mysterious witch. "Girls, let me bring you back to the beginning. Da Vinci, who had extensively researched witches as well, wrote a little book called, _Magic is Man's Given_ _Fire_ , when translated. There was a time when humans could not use magic, you see, until there were the first witches and wizards born with magic inside of them...

"They needed no wands nor a sorcerer's stone to access magic. These witches are not witches at all. They're sorceresses." She paused and grinned. "Yes, Miss Cavendish?"

Diana stood and folded her hands behind her back. "Do they have any connections to sorcerer's stones? Besides not requiring them for magic... And I am assuming this is regardless there is an abundance of magic to the world or not, Professor Karlyn?"

Professor Karlyn nodded. "Yes. The stones may have been named after them, I'm sure, and you are right to assume that." Diana nodded, said a brief thanks and sat down at her seat. She jotted down her notes as the professor continued: "Sorceresses are said to be supremely talented at magic, capable of doing the unthinkable."

"So like Diana?" Hannah asked. Diana swallowed and felt her cheeks warm softly as the class looked at her.

Karlyn chuckled quietly and said, "No, she's not, I'm afraid. But perhaps her talent does meet a sorcerers' own. No. While there is not a lot known about sorceresses, one thing is for certain: They are extremely rare. One of several generations. One in a million.

"And there are objects, too, that are tied with sorceresses. For example—" sketches and images of several various items popped up on the blackboard— "this tapestry found in Russia. You see the dragons at the corners, and stones along the edges, surrounding the sorceress?" Diana studied the picture as did the rest of the class, though her attention drifted to the corner of the screen.

Her eyes widened.

The Claiomh Solais. She paused in her notes, completely blocking out the lesson. Instead, Diana's gaze wandered towards Akko curiously. Said student was giving it her all to be attentive, though Diana knew her mind was elsewhere. Diana looked back to the screen. Could this be what she was after? A piece of her own research that was needing to be uncovered?

Diana shook herself to attention and continued to write down information in her notes. Sorceresses with great power and talent with magic, popping in and out of history, deciding magic's fate. Her curiosity grew to no end. She wasn't a sorceress, no. That much she knew.

But... Diana's imagination was working furiously. But she could _find_ one, yes? And bring magic back to the world. A sorceress could do that. And the Claiomh Solais was within her reach, it wouldn't be out-worldly to open the Grand Triskellion, would it? She could do it. She could see to that magic would exist to its true potential. Yes, that she could do.

As class was dismissed, she gathered her things quickly. "You two go and get to lunch, I'll be there."

"Okay," Hannah said.

Barbara added, "We'll save you a seat." The girls chuckled before they strode away, leaving Diana to walk towards Professor Karlyn. 

"Ah, I figured you'd be quite intrigued by this lesson, Miss Cavendish."

"I am, yes," Diana admitted. "Do you know of any books in the library that tells more about sorceresses?"

Karlyn nodded, fixing her braid briefly. "I know there are some, in the C section, though I am not all that sure they touch more on what I have discussed in class today."

"Really?" asked Diana.

"Yes. Much of the research on sorceresses and sorcerers were burned at the end of the Golden Age of Magic... Perhaps you'll be able to read in between the lines?" Karlyn halted and added, "Well, actually, I have heard of some mythologies that may include sorceresses... I would not ignore that section of the library also."

Diana nodded. "Thank-you, professor. Is there anything about them to keep an eye of?"

Karlyn scratched her wrist in thought. "Well, every single myth and fable I've come across describes them as woman with red eyes... It makes me wonder if sorcerers are much rarer than sorceresses."

"Red eyes...like Akko?" Diana asked, the Shiny Rod-wielder coming to mind.

"You mean Akko, a sorceress? No, no..." Karlyn shook her head. "No, I mean _red_ eyes. And Akko's abilities, while she is quite determined and gives a lot of heart, I do admire that, she is no sorceress."

Diana nodded. "I see. Well, thank-you, professor. I will look into this."

Karlyn smiled as her student walked to the door. "No problem, Miss Cavendish. It's a pleasure knowing that _somebody_ takes meaning from my class."

**. . .**

Akko gathered all the necessary ingredients as listed on the blackboard in the lab room—and then some of her own. As she picked the pickled plum jar from the circular table, she saw the violet team walk towards Lukić, their heavy hearts obvious from across the room. As they began to converse with the professor worriedly, Akko asked, "Hey...what's going on with them?"

Sucy shrugged and glanced at the corner of the room. "Oh, the bird they found in the courtyard's gone."

"The one with the broken wing?"

She nodded. Lotte sighed and said, "You didn't hear? Wangari was talking about it when we came out." Akko shook her head. "Apparently, the cage was found empty."

"With blood and feathers everywhere." Sucy grinned satanically. "They even found a foot in its bedding."

" _Sucy_ , not right now! That's horrible," Lotte hissed. Akko grew somber and watched the violet team stride away, the students of nearby tables just as quiet and solemn as they were. 

Even Diana paused during her work as Hannah asked her, "My god. We don't get animals, do we?"

Diana answered, hollowly, "I don't think so."

Barbara asked, "Who would do something like that?! It couldn't even fly..."

"I don't know," Diana replied with her voice distant. "Just...come on, you two. We must get this done. We can think about the poor bird later." They nodded and set to work.

Akko followed suit and said, "Well, nothing is better than pickled plums. Why don't we cheer ourselves up with it?" Vigorously, she began to mix her ingredients and immediately the mixture began to swell uncontrollably. And like her painful zit the few nights before, it popped. She blinked as sweet, delicious sludge coated her face.

"Why do you keep wasting ingredients?" Sucy asked.

"Yeah," Lotte agreed, "it never works because you're adding the wrong things."

Sucy scraped some off her cheek and tasted it. "Not bad though," she murmured quietly.

"But that's how you get it to taste good."

Lotte sighed. "Just go clean yourself up, Akko. We can try it again in a few minutes." Akko relented and picked up a towel (which Sucy had brought over before, knowingly). As she began to clean herself up, the room sprung with giggles and the familiar tittering about her. Though, everything felt a lot lighter now, instead of mournful over the murdered bird; Akko took her comeuppance with grace. Even though Sucy was the only one to taste some of the pickled plums, at least her concoction _did_ cheer people up.

Her table, in unison, turned towards the sound of a blender. Akko blinked, rubbing the last of the goop away, as Constanze poured her mixture into a cup and slid it into an oven. "Hey...wait a minute, that doesn't look witchy at all."

The rest of the green team glanced at her. Amanda continued to lean back in her chair and Jasminka chomped away at her chips. "Look who's talking," Sucy muttered. The green team couldn't help but agree.

Jasminka, however, offered a chip. "Want some? Fluffy flavor," she said.

"Come on, Jasminka. We have to take this class seriously."

Amanda snorted, unceasingly rocking in her chair. She didn't even open her eyes. "Oh needs to take this class seriously? It's an elective, for one thing, and it's too easy. For everyone but you, anyway."

"And what do you mean by _that?_ " Akko hissed.

"It's not like you can keep up like the rest of us. So why do you even try?" Akko scowled. "You can't even ride a broom."

"Maybe you're the one who can't keep up!"

"Wow, good one... You yap like an annoying dog. One of those fuckin' purse ones..."

Akko folded her arms and retorted, "You're just pissed that I beat you in the race even if I can't fly."

That got to Amanda. She stopped in her rocking and finally opened her eyes. "That wasn't you. That was the broom. And you still fell off it like some dumbfuck anyway." 

"Oh, what did you say?!" Akko snapped, grabbing Amanda's legs and tossing her backwards in her seat.

Snarling, "What the hell was that?!" Amanda then got to her feet.

"Didn't your mum every teach you to not rock backwards in your seat?" 

"My _mom_ didn't— You have no right speaking about her!" Amanda stood toe-to-toe with Akko, her teeth bared. "Did your mom tell you not to knock someone's ass off their chair like that?!"

"No."

Amanda paused. "You stupid ho."

"What?!"

"Yeah, always trying to do stuff even though you can't! Fuckin' try-hard!"

"Try-hard?!"

Lotte grimaced, realizing she _should_ have intervened sooner. "A-Akko...Amanda, please...not now."

Her plead fell onto deaf ears. Akko shoved Amanda's shoulders and said, "You're the try-hard getting your ass handed to you in the race!"

Amanda shoved her back and their exchange quickly turned into a small shoving match. "Me a try-hard? You're kidding!" As they bickered, stumbling around the table, the class grew quiet as one-by-one all witches watched their petty fight. And soon enough, Akko was knocked against the table, tossing the cauldron onto other ingredients.

The effect was explosive. The room was suddenly filled with surprised screams and shrapnel.

"Scrylla!"

Everything paused, hanging in the air. Amanda and Akko blinked in confusion.

Diana brought her hands with her wand together and said, "Yera retoure!" The shrapnel flew back to its original place, as if no Akko was shoved against a table. Diana set her wand back to her hip and eyed the girls, unimpressed. As Hannah and Barbara fawned over Diana, she said, "Excuse me, could the two of you please stop disrupting the class with your barbaric fight? We already had a slow start as it is. And it's so irritating."

"Uh?!"

"Yeah," Amanda scoffed. "Who are you calling 'barbaric?'"

"BE—" Akko and Amanda felt someone grab their heads— "QUIET!" With swift force, their heads were clacked together and they sank to the ground, groaning and clutching their ringing ears. Uneasily, the two looked up to find Lukić. "It sounds like the two of you need to be disciplined. Perhaps a punishment that makes your blood dry up?" She began to cackle, adding to their panic.

Diana sighed. "And perhaps when you do whatever menial task you're given, you can decide which one of you is the most try-hard." Hannah and Barbara chortled, sticking their tongues out.

Both Akko and Amanda—discreetly, with the professor hovering over them—flipped them off.

**. . .**

Akko furiously scrubbed the side of New Moon tower, cleaning off the grime to add a nice sheen. As she rubbed a particularly difficult patch of dirt off, she grumbled, "Diana really gets on my nerves. Acting all cool 'cause she can use _magic_."

Amanda, who was sweeping the floor casually aside from her random juts of irritation, agreed: "Right though? She always has that stuck-up attitude," then mocking, "just because she's from some 'famous witch family.'"

A dirty rag was sopped into a water bucket before Akko continued to clean the wall. "And telling _us_ to see who's the biggest try-hard? She's such a hypocrite. It's obviously her!"

Amanda arched a brow and paused. "What do you mean?"

"She acts all perfect, but that's impossible!" Akko explained in between scrubs. "Nobody is perfect! It's just because she's a _Cavendish_ _!_ 'We pride ourselves on our prestigious line of tradition...'" Amanda nodded once and swept the soda can back-and-forth with vigor. "Bitch _please_ , we all know you don't believe in craggily old witches!"

"Yeah!"

"With her fucking perfect body and hair."

"Okay," Amanda halted again and turned towards Akko. "Now _what?_ "

Atsuko stopped and looked back. "What? Are you telling me she always has to have good-hair days? Who is she trying to impress anyway?!"

"That is true. _God_ , she has no right giving us shit for being try-hards!" Amanda exclaimed, furiously sweeping the can.

In unison, both snapped, "I'd like to give her a piece of my mind!" Akko threw the rag into the bucket whereas Amanda sent the can soaring through the air.

Akko glared at Amanda. "H- _Hey!_ Have you just been slacking off?!"

"What?"

"You're supposed to be helping me!"

Amanda folded her arms and asked, "And what are you going to do about it?" The instant she finished her sentence, Amanda was smacked with a wet, soggy rag right to the face. She scowled and tore it off. Once spitting to the ground and wiping her mouth, Amanda snapped, "Oh you fucking bitch!"

"That's what you get for— _You little—!_ " Akko staggered forward after Amanda had thrown her broom before throwing _herself_ at the other witch.

Amanda dodged the first swing she threw, though not the second. Amanda grunted and ran into the wall before pushing herself off of it. Their shoes scraped against the concrete as they continued to brawl, hands snagged on their shirts and fists jabbing through the air. She clenched her teeth, not expecting Akko to be so quick and _strong_. The latter was the most surprising as Atsuko was very lean and a some centimeters (or, as the American would say, a couple of _inches_ ) shorter than Amanda.

Despite how weak Amanda thought Akko was beforehand, she was getting her ass beat.

She was knocked to the ground, landing hard. "What the hell!?" she snapped, her calf stinging where Akko had hooked her leg around, promptly shoving her thereafter. Akko stood at her feet, arms crossed. "Where the hell did you learn to fight dirty like that?" Amanda asked, oddly impressed.

"My dad," Akko answered. "It's karate, but I've always had my own little spins to it."

Amanda got to her feet once Akko offered her hand, helping her. "What else did you do?"

"Let's see... He made me do these little things constantly, but I was in gymnastics and track too."

Amanda whistled. "I've only done broom dancing and got into fights at school," she said. She laughed and added, "I haven't lost a fight since elementary, and I really didn't expect it to be from _you_ of all people."

"You think I won?" Amanda hesitantly nodded. Akko smirked. "Does that mean you're the try-hard?"

" _No_ , it doesn't."

"Really...? 'Cause I actually won without trying _that_ hard."

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "Oh, okay hotshot." She rolled up her sleeves. "Let's see how you handle _this—_ " She paused with her fist hanging in the air and Akko with her arms up, bracing. Amanda frowned, her ears pounding. _That wasn't just me, was it?_ She eyed Akko in confusion, then she flicked her eyes to the side, away from the tower's overhang.

Akko blinked back, puzzled herself. "What are you...?"

 _Apparently I'm an idiot._ But she tensed. _Wait, there it is again._ Amanda looked up, dropping her fist as she heard another _flap_. And by the look of Akko, she knew she heard it too. "It sounds like..."

"A bird?"

Amanda strode forward, picking up her broom. "No..." she murmured, the sound now louder and more continuous. "It sounds _bigger_. And heavi—" She stood outside and her eyes widened. "Holy shit."

Yes, the source of the noise was much bigger and heavier than a bird. _And_ more than a bird as she counted five. They were flying in a group, their green scales glimmering in the evening sun, towards the height of the tower. "Holy shit. Holy _shit_ ," she repeated. _Dragons._ "What the fuck?!"

"What?" Akko asked, quickly joining her side. She too looked up. "What the fuck?" she echoed.

Amanda's heart jolted. The way the dragons suddenly halted and grappled to the wall as soon as Akko set foot away from the overhang did not sit well with her. They turned to the girls, their glinting eyes hungry. "A-Akko..." Amanda stuttered, throwing her arm out. "I don't like the looks of this." They scaled down the wall for a few steps, making crooning sounds.

"I don't either... What do we do?"

"I don't—" The dragons launched themselves off the tower and barreled to the ground. " _RUN!_ " Both Akko and Amanda sprinted towards the school, only to have a dragon get in their way. They staggered away from its snapping jaws, its attention more geared towards Akko. And as they bolted to the side, that observation was more apparent. "Akko! Watch out, they're after you!" Amanda hollered. She gasped as two—no, _three_ —dragons swooped over Akko's head, attempting to snatch her by the shoulders. 

Akko ducked before stumbling into a roll, another dragon slamming into the earth right beside her. "Hey!" Amanda shouted, brandishing her broom. "Get away you fucking shit!" She jabbed the end of her broom into the dragon's nostril, stabbing as it screamed, jerking away. Its movements proved to be too frantic, however, as the broom handle tore the cartilage in between the nostrils. It shrieked in agony as the broom snapped, the handle barely hanging on, before Amanda hoisted Akko to her feet. 

"Wait, _Amanda!_ Your broom, we can just fly!" Akko shouted.

Amanda blinked and stared at her broom. "I'm such a retard." She hopped on and hoped that it wasn't too damaged for it to collect magic. "Come on!" Akko nodded and got on, throwing a handle of dirt at a dragon's eyes before doing so. "Tia freyre!" Amanda shouted, and after a second of delay (which heightened her worry), they lifted off. As they zipped overtop the trees, Amanda glanced at the handle. It didn't show any signs of magical energy, though considering that they were _flying_ , she assumed it just needed fixing.

Akko's grip around her waist tightened, and Amanda heard her wince. "You okay there?"

"Y-yes... Just go and fly," Akko mumbled. The sensation in her chest. The one she felt in the ley-line, so cold and sharp, was back. Akko groaned as Amanda suddenly jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding a bite. She had forgotten about that. Except, now she felt her energy being drained from underneath her, rather than all over her body. Her gut ached along with her chest, then her diaphragm, then her back, her throat, her head. "Oh god," she wheezed, her grip loosening.

"Akko..." Amanda muttered slowly, worry tinting her voice. "Don't you fall off... We're almost, _God damn it!_ " Once again, a dragon foiled their plan to dash towards the school, swooping in their way. Deciding she was through with that shit, Amanda raised her wand and dazzling light blinded them. She forced her own gaze down as the dragons screamed. "AKKO!"

As she had done so, she watched Akko plummet, her spinning head shattering to black. And the further she dropped, the more her broom ceased to fly, falling as well. Amanda yelped, covering her head as she crashed through the trees.

With a sickening pop, Amanda landed on a thick branch against the truck of the tree as her broom rattled back-and-forth in between the leaves, finally landing on the ground a second later. "O-ow..." she grimaced shakily. Amanda slowly sat up, hand steady on the tree as she made sure that _no_ , her back was not broken. She gasped for air, though, the wind having been knocked out of her for certain.

Pale teal eyes drifted up to the sky, watching shadows zip passed through the leaves. Amanda grinned. _So they don't know where we are..._ She sighed and murmured, "What a relief." _Although..._ Her panic came back as she looked around, eyes darting across what she could see from the ground. _Where's Akko?_

Gingerly, Amanda clambered down the tree and picked up her broom, the handle still barely on. She thought it would've snapped off by that point. "Akko?" she called out. "Akko?! Please don't be dead!"

As she paced around, Amanda heard a weak, "I'm...not..."

"Akko?" Amanda charged towards the noise, finding Akko curled up in the ground, clutching her side. She propped herself up with her other arm, her face contorted into a deep wince. "Akko are you, are you hurt?" She saw the drops of blood littered on the ground.

"No..." Atsuko grunted, wiping her mouth. Her hand was smeared with blood, and Amanda realized Akko was bleeding from the mouth. She stepped forward though backed nervously away as Akko coughed, tiny droplets of red spraying. The hand that clutched her side now gripped her chest. Amanda got to her knees beside Akko realizing that _no_ , she wasn't bleeding from the mouth but internally, from the chest. She hoped to God it wasn't her lungs. Or anything, really, but especially her lungs or her heart. "I'm fine, really," Akko assured, wiping her mouth again. "I've had this happen before."

Amanda gawked. "Coughing up _blood?!_ "

Akko nodded, rubbing her chest. The cruel sensation was seeping away. "Yeah. It helps the pain, actually."

"What pain?"

"I don't know what it is exactly," she said, tapping between her collar bones, "but it's here... Sometimes I get this weird pain in my chest. I actually got it when I came here in the ley-line, but I don't think I bled, though."

"Fucking Christ, Akko. What the hell are you doing being a fucking try-hard with a condition like that?"

Akko glared at Amanda. "Oh don't start that up again."

Amanda chuckled as Akko eased herself against a tree. With Akko watching her, Amanda fixed her broom with the wand. "That was weird though, with my broom?" She patted the handle as magic began to regenerate on its meter. "I originally thought it wouldn't take off because that was busted," she said, gesturing towards the meter, "but we flew... Though it didn't last long, so I guess I was kind of right at first."

"Yeah..." Akko mumbled. Shadows darted above them, and they kept quiet. After a minute, Akko said, "Well, I guess we can rest here and then try running for it. Or if your broom is fine, fly."

Amanda nodded in agreement.

**. . .**

Tall double doors flew open, thrashing against the wall as Akko and Amanda barged through the very confused crowd of students. Their classmates stared as they continued to bolt down the hall, weaving around obstacles precariously and clothes covered in dirt and grim. "Where's the headmistress?!" Amanda yelled, swinging her broom about like her hand had a mind of its own. "Anybody?! Just point us to her!"

Akko slammed on her heels and grabbed a terrified third-year by the vest. "We need her right now! Where is she?!"

The blonde growled, slapping her hands away. "Go check her office if you're in such a hurry!"

"Oh, right," Akko mumbled, glancing at Amanda. In unison, they charged down the hall and turned the corner. "Headmistress!" Akko called. "Headmistress, headmistress! Head— _ACK!_ " She barely had time to stop before she was slammed into another student, the world a blur for a few moments. She groaned which was echoed by a few grunts and wheezes. When she opened her eyes, the ceiling momentarily circled around her before she blinked a few times. "Ow..." Akko moaned weakly, picking herself up.

She stared at the ground in confusion before her eyes widened. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Diana!"

Diana, disgruntled, nodded slowly with her jaw tense and got to her feet. As Amanda and Barbara got up too, she snapped, "Why were you running in the halls?!"

"Well, we— Professor Finnelan!" Akko sprinted away from Diana, followed by Amanda, leaving her quite confused. Diana turned towards Akko, Amanda and the professor, locked in an urgent conversation. "Professor," she heard Akko say, "we were cleaning the tower and there's dragons!"

"Five of them!" Amanda added, her arms stretched out. "Huge ones and they were after the sorcerer's stone!" Hannah and Barbara gasped behind Diana. For a reason to be running recklessly down the halls, Diana could admit that it was a very good one. "But they attacked us before they got to it and now they won't leave us alone! We tried getting out from under the trees twice, and we were barely able to sneak passed them the third time!"

And now their reason was just that more understandable.

"Dragons? At Luna Nova?" Anne arched a brow and asked, "Where are—" Horrifying wails erupted from the distance, halting her question. She blinked and nodded. "I see. Thank-you both for alerting me on this. Go and stay inside for now, okay girls?"

"Gladly," Amanda answered.

Akko said with a polite bow, "Thank-you, professor." They watched Finnelan walk briskly away before hearing the blue team stride towards them.

Hannah held Amanda's broom out and said, "You dropped it."

"Oh, right," Amanda said, taking it. "Thanks." Hannah nodded, then followed Diana towards the library.

Akko sighed and leaned against a wall. "I'm so tired..." she murmured suddenly.

Amanda nodded. "Me too."

As they circled around the hall, Finnelan was nearly trampled by Ursula carrying several dozens of books all at once. "Goodness! Why do you feel the need to exert yourself like that?"

"Because I have to milk my youth when I can," Ursula replied cheekily. "I'll someday have to take a break or two like you."

Anne rolled her eyes. _Typical..._ She shook her head then said, "Nevermind that. You need to get to the pantry in the kitchens. _Now_."

"What? But you said I had to—"

"I don't care what I said thirty minutes ago, Ursula!" Finnelan snapped. "I'm telling you now, there are dragons outside hovering over the school and you cannot be near the windows."

Ursula grew serious on the flip of a dime. She nodded slowly and murmured, "Alright... I will. Thank-you for telling me. I expect you're going to tell Miranda?"

"Immediately."

**. . .**

It turned out Akko and Amanda were more alike than they thought. For example, they paced when they got particularly nervous. Which they were doing in the middle of a hall, the rest of the red and green teams clustered around them. The difference was that Akko ranted while Amanda kept deathly silent.

"And— And... I don't know! I fell off the broom and they couldn't find us but I don't know why they attacked _me_ anyway, they should've attacked Amanda because she was the one who noticed them first and stepped outside before I did, but no they were interested in me! I never did anything!"

Sucy sighed and said, "Well, you do a lot of things. Maybe this is a bunch of karma bundled up."

Akko halted and snapped, loudly, "I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO THEM, SUCY!" Sucy blinked, not expecting that volume of a reaction. The ceiling then creaked, something else nobody expected. 

Lotte said, worried, "A-Akko...I think you should keep your voice down."

"Uh...y-yeah..." Akko mumbled, staring upwards. There was a terrifying roar on the outside of the building.

Amanda tensed. "Oh shit. They found you again." Quickly, Sucy whipped her wand out and began to cover the windows with a black mist; though with the length of the glass and the multitude of them, it was a job that took precious time.

Luckily, however, she had help. "Diana?" Akko asked curiously.

As Diana offered her helping hand, Hannah and Barbara by her side, she said, "You know, if you ever are being chased by dragons Akko, I wouldn't make a racket!"

"I didn't mean to! Sucy—" The doors shuddered aggressively, sending her backwards several meters within a second. Atsuko clutched the wall, her eyes wide as the door continuously shuddered. The lock and hinges creaked. "Run! They're going to break in!" she yelped before bolting down the corridor. The rest of the teams didn't hesitate. And not a couple of seconds later, the doors were busted down, screaming dragons storming precariously down the halls.

It took all their energy to keep up with Akko. Diana asked Amanda, as their strides and speeds matched, "Why are they chasing Akko? Do they go after anybody else too?"

Amanda shook her head. "No! It must be because Akko's such a fucking try-hard!"

"Would you quit with that, you dumbass!" Akko snapped.

Diana nodded, ignoring Akko's comment, and thought. She turned to Amanda before jumping at the sound of the dragons tearing through things that hung on the walls. Diana didn't look back, however. "Why don't the others hide and we keep running with Akko?"

"Why us?!" Amanda asked.

"Because we're the only ones able to keep up!" Indeed they were. Even though the rest were right behind them, they would slow down soon. Diana yelled over her shoulder, "You all get into a classroom as fast as you can! The dragons aren't after you!"

"O-okay!" Lotte replied.

"We will!" Hannah and Barbara whimpered in unison.

They turned the corner, and at the very next door, the rest of blue, red and green teams all swarmed inside a classroom—profusely apologizing once realizing that a second-year class was in progress. Though, once the dragons thundered down the halls, Lukić didn't have their heads.

Akko, Amanda and Diana surged forward with energy they didn't know they had. They were closing in at an end of a hallway with double doors leading outside and two directions to go inside. The dragons, too, were closing in on their target. "Which way Akko?!" she asked hurriedly.

"L— Right! Right, I'm going right!" Akko announced. And as promised, she went right with Diana and Amanda tailing her. However, Akko found herself nearly running over Professor Finnelan, Diana and Amanda toppling over her. They all yelped in unison, Anne backing away as Akko, Amanda and Diana tumbled down in a pile.

"We'll take care of this now, girls," Anne said. At once, the dozen of professors that had been hiding in the hallway jumped out and yelled an incantation none of the students—with their worlds spinning with stars and all—didn't recognize. The dragons halted at the surprise and were immediately met with magical blades through their eyes and mouth. They wailed until plopping to heaps of lifeless hills. Akko glanced from around the corner and grimaced; the one that Amanda injured now had several more tears at its nose.

They all stepped out and met the teachers with exhausted breaths. "I'm sorry you all had to see that, though dragons cannot be penetrated by magic through their scales," Miranda said sorrowfully. "But thank-you for your efforts. You all may be excused from any classes you would have had for tomorrow. Including the rest of your teams, as I assume accompanied you as well."

Akko blinked and Amanda sighed happily. Diana answered, for the two of them as well, "Thank-you, Headmistress Holbrooke. It's greatly appreciated."

Miranda nodded. "Now, go along to your dorms. We'll take care of this matter on our own."

The trio obliged and slowly departed. With Diana in front, Amanda said, "Well...I didn't realize they were _that_ easy to take care of."

"Yeah... I kinda feel dumb for running all that now," Akko replied.

Diana sighed and said, "Don't be. They haven't taught us how to fight dragons, and not many people know that their scales are resilient to magic."

"Did you though?"

"Yes, I did. That's why I didn't try and do anything before." She then admitted, "I never really knew that incantation... Did either of you hear it well?" Akko and Amanda shook their heads as Diana turned around. "Well then, I will get to my dorm once we find the rest of our teams. I'd advise you two to just keep to your dorms."

"But what about food?"

Diana did something that truly spooked both Amanda and Akko; she chuckled softly. "I can arrange some of the fairies to bring you some, Akko. Amanda, since you weren't the ones the dragons were chasing, I think it'll be fine for you to go and eat."

"True..." Amanda muttered.

Diana nodded. "Now, with that, I'll be off." She strode away, leaving Akko and Amanda standing their, quiet.

Once she was completely out of their line of sight, Akko mumbled, "Why does she always know everything we don't?"

"Yeah...but..."

"Yeah, I know. She did help a lot," Akko said. She snorted, then laughed, "But she was encouraging us to run in the halls too." Amanda laughed as well, and they began to stroll towards wherever they left their teams behind; they really didn't remember which room after panicking as much as they did.

**. . .**

Diana scowled and glared at the books laid out in front of her.

She didn't usually get so irritated by literature; though just as Professor Karlyn had said, there was nothing new in the five huge books she managed to get her hands on. It was the most she could do for the night, given the extremes of excitement the day had given her. She tapped her feathered pen at the corner of her journal. _But there is something to them..._ she thought. _Sorceress...that's the key, isn't it? A sorceress._

Diana sighed and set down her pen. At least she had all the free time the next day. And she needed sleep. That was it. It wasn't like she had gotten any the night before...

**. . .**

It was easy settling down after such a tiring day. Lotte was snuggled up with a Nightfall book, Sucy with her potions and Akko resting in her bed. She stared at her Shiny Chariot poster, wondering. "I heard that all classes were inside for the rest of this week?"

"Yeah. Which means our exam on fly is pushed back, something you needed."

Akko didn't have the energy to bicker with Sucy. Instead, she stretched. "And what was that Wangari was saying about a dungeon class?"

"Oh yeah," Lotte said, "that's underneath the Labyrinth Tower. There's a tunnel that connects the campus to it, and it's supposed to be really big." She smiled and paused in her reading. "I'm kind of excited for it. I've never been in there. But I don't know how good I'll do..."

"Well if we all do it, we should be good," Akko said.

"Yeah. That is if you don't get ahead of yourself."

"I won't, I won't," Akko mumbled. She yawned as there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Kagari?" She immediately sat up. "I would like a word with you."

"Coming Professor Finnelan," Akko rushed. She stumbled over some textbooks she had left lying in front of her bed and quickly shoved them underneath the bunk. Akko opened the door, revealing Finnelan still in her uniform. 

"Excuse me girls, I just have a few questions for Atsuko about today's events." Lotte and Sucy nodded as the door was shut. Akko fidgeted with her hands behind her back; Finnelan never called her anything aside from her last name before. She waited for the witch to begin. "Now, what happened before the dragons attacked you and Miss O'Neil? Did you agitate them in any way?"

Akko shook her head. "No. I didn't even notice they were there. Amanda was even the one who heard them first."

Anne hummed to herself. "And as soon as they saw you, they ignored the sorcerer's stone?" Akko nodded. "I see... Well, that is all for now, Miss Kagari."

"Nothing else?"

Anne arched a brow. "Do you want anything else?"

"Oh, n-no. I was just..." Akko shifted awkwardly. "I don't know. I've just been confused I guess."

"That is understandable," Finnelan said. "It has been quite the unusual day. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to the headmistress' office. Have a good night, Miss Kagari."

"Okay, you too, professor." Both broke away to their own directions quickly, Akko eager to get back to her bed.

Sucy lifted her attention from her potions, her gas mask on. "Did she want anything else?"

"No. She just asked if I did anything to get their attention."

"And did you?"

"No, I told you! I was literally just standing there!"

Sucy chortled. "I guess that's all it takes with you."

"Oh shut up." Though, she snickered anyhow, which was accompanied by a soft giggle from Lotte.

**. . .**

Ursula never particularly enjoyed gatherings in the headmistress' office, especially ones that were so impromptu. Everybody was much, much older than her—several of which, including Finnelan, Badcock and Lukić, were even her teachers at one point. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult proving herself more than just a past student and an actual professor.

As the adults—despite actually being one herself—discussed the worrying issue at hand, she lingered in the background, leaning against the bookshelf with her arms folded. "I told you, Miranda, after the orientation that this girl would bring trouble here. If we can't tame her enough then—"

"I would argue, Anne, that that's precisely the reason why she should stay. May I remind you how your sister was? Those three years here did her wonders," Holbrooke argued calmly. "And Akko's not as temperamental nor angry at the world. She's very well-mannered, polite, respects her elders and quite determined. Her plunders are more dramatic than all the other students, but with extra guidance, I'm sure she will be good."

"That's not what I mean," Anne said tiredly. "I spoke to her outside her dorm room. She didn't so much as breathe for the dragons to have attacked her. Miss O'Neil said the same thing; as soon as Akko was in their line of sight, she was attacked." Anne sighed and admitted, "I recognize her qualities as a person, but not a witch. Regardless of my views on her, when I say she brings trouble, I don't mean she is the trouble. She's a target, and I won't allow other students to get in harms way because of her. First the small animals being butchered in our classrooms late at night, then the dragons... I-I don't know what to do with her."

"Yes, but remember," Badcock intervened, "the animals started in the first semester. Akko was not here. But I do agree with you, though, we need to do something about her." Samantha then glanced at Ursula. "You work with her as a tutor, don't you?"

Ursula nodded. "Yes, I do. Right now we're focusing on the basics. Spells without incantations. She picks them up really well, albeit slower than most of the students," she answered. "And I'll have you know, she's quite bright and innovative. She just mixes up her words and jumbles her letters around."

"Amongst other things..."

Ursula scowled and snapped, "At least she tries. There is a plethora of students that come here and expect their certificates and graduation to be served on a platter. She came from Japan just to go here, for Christ's sake!"

Anne held her hand to silence Samantha before a tangent was born. "You are quite irritated for being the only one who hasn't spoken yet."

"I am," Professor Ursula confirmed. "You lot have spent the past ten to fifteen minutes arguing over Akko who is not the problem right now. This year has brought many concerns, which include the five murdered animals and the dragons that came here today! Right now, we just need to take precautions for all the students, regardless if they underperform or excel. Not everybody can be a Diana, and not everybody will be an Akko."

Miranda hummed from behind her desk. "Well articulated, Ursula, I must say. Yes, I do agree." She paused for a moment and said, "Though, the concerns you expressed to me were about Akko, and that's why you wish to give a lesson in the dungeons in a few days? To test our students' skills?"

Ursula nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Because of Akko? How?"

She gave her attention to Karlyn. "It's for all the students, really, but I do not think it's wise to have them be outside for the time being. And the dungeons will ensure who's capable and who we need to aid in protecting themselves. But it was Akko who truly needs it the most. She cannot be around dragons, or any monster that feeds off of magic."

"And how'd you mean? It's not like they can get much out of her. She's incompetent as a witch."

"Incompetence has nothing to do with this," Ursula murmured. She stripped her glasses away as she explained, "Nothing of the sort. Magic runs through her veins as it does through mine, Sarah. Unlike the students here, it is a part of her. She can feel it. I knew when she was approaching the school because the ley-line was off-balanced; magic at her calibre has not set foot at Luna Nova for centuries. She is stronger than me."

Anne stared at Ursula in disbelief. "You...you don't mean to tell me that she's—"

"Like me?" Ursula blinked and stared at her. In her eyes was a startling red. Anne had almost forgotten how mystifying they were with her glasses constantly shrouding them. But now, as she watched her, that observation couldn't be any more clear. "Yes, she is the same as me, only much stronger. I can feel it. Magic pulses through her like nothing I've ever felt. It's almost like she has the same magic that ran through the Nine Olde Witches' as well."

Anne nodded. "I see..." She pursed her lips, deciding that there would be more time to discuss the matter later on. "Well, then I suppose the students will be safer indoors now." Ursula bobbed her head and slipped her glasses back on.

"Well now, let us get rest," Miranda murmured. "I have a feeling this week isn't over yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #DianaIsBiggestTry-Hard 
> 
> Fight me.
> 
> Oh, and really important with updating here: Believe it or not, for those who've been following, my updating now is actually really good. (Yeah, I know. Didn't update for a week and it's good.) Basically, I'm here to tell you updating for now on is not going to be consistent. I'll try my damn hardest, but a) I go to a high school (senior this year :D) that's duel enrolled with the community college, b) volunteer at a ranch, c) intern at a clinic, d) have other stories to do, both other fanfics and my own stuff, and e) I have a social life believe it or not. So, yeah... :D
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> :P


	6. Part I. Dungeon Witches [OVA]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a big chapter... For those waiting for that big divergence, well, I'd say this is it.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!  
> ;)

Ursula smiled gently as students passed by, playing with her hands. There was a particular ache in her gut, and she knew it wasn't the baked potato she ate the night prior. No. This was deep. _Unsettling_. There was something off with the air. The sun was glinting down at her with a trickster's smile. The stars that would align that night were scheming.

Something of destiny was going to happen that day. She knew it.

So where was Akko? Trouble always followed her around like a lingering shadow.

Ursula staggered back from around the corner as Diana, Hannah and Barbara approached. "Oh! Excuse me professor, I did not see you there," Diana said.

"It's okay, Diana. I'm just trying to find Akko, is all." She explained, "I-I need to speak with Akko before our activity today. Do you know where she is?"

Diana shook her head. "No. I saw her at breakfast though not when we came here. She should be coming soon, though."

"I see. Well, you three go on to the dungeons," Ursula said sweetly. She watched as the girls strolled down. At least she wouldn't have to worry about them. _Especially_ with Diana there, always keeping herself and others in line. But Akko... _Ah! There she is!_ "A-Akko!"

Akko, beside Sucy and Lotte, looked up. "Miss Ursula? Do you need something?"

"Yes, actually. To speak with you," she answered. "You two go to the dungeon, I'll speak with Akko alone for this."

"Alright," Sucy murmured. 

"Come on, we can go find a spot," Lotte said, nudging her forward. 

With her friends walking ahead, Akko gave Ursula her full attention. "Okay, so you do you know how dangerous the dungeons can be at some times?" Akko nodded slowly, listening. "Well, I'm not really worried about you, especially with Lotte and Sucy by your side. But there are dragons down there...some of them weaker than others, and they're all down at the lower levels."

Akko audibly gulped. So Ursula didn't have to do much convincing to die-down her eagerness. Perfect. "Like the ones that attacked me a few days ago?"

Ursula nodded, though it was slow. "Yes...and no. I don't think any of them are that big or that much of a worry. Except for one."

"For...one?"

"Yes. He's an ancient dragon locked away in an iron maiden. He's at the lowest level," said Ursula. "Whatever you do, _please_ do not open the iron maiden. I don't know much about him and what he's like as a dragon, but I know for certain he hasn't been fed magic one way or another in several centuries at _least_ , so I don't know how primal he'll end up being."

Akko pursed her lips and frowned. She nodded once. "Okay. Don't go after dragons and don't open the iron maiden. Got it..." She thought for a second. "So...avoid going to the lower levels then? How will I know I went too far?"

"The lower levels I'm talking about look more like caves than they do dungeons."

"Okay. I won't let you down!" Akko promised. Ursula smiled and Akko was off, joining Lotte and Sucy before they made it to the dungeons. Ursula stood there for a moment, conflicted. She just did everything she could. Why didn't the feeling in her gut lessen? She frowned.

That day would be a very long and tiring day, wouldn't it? 

Days of destinies always were.

**. . .**

Students were clustered in the center of a great room underground, beneath the Labyrinth Tower. Despite the tiring walk in the cramped tunnel to reach the tower's base, everybody couldn't be more thrilled with today's activity. Professor Ursula stood beside a wheeled-blackboard, waiting patiently as the students settled down. Hannah and Barbara were some of the minority that weren't as excited. They watched Diana, hoping to leech some of the confidence that she had woken up with that morning.

Diana awoke with a gentle smirk and a glint in her eyes which puzzled both of her friends as she sipped her tea. This was another faucet of her personality they have yet to see. They always knew she was adept at combat and very skilled in all the athletic competitions they have contributed to—the broom relay the most recent—though they still wondered what the dungeons would bring out of Diana. And that she'd protect them; Barbara had heard stories of the labyrinth and shared them with Hannah beforehand.

"So...Diana?" Barbara asked.

"Hmm?"

Barbara fiddled with the bag slung over her shoulder. "What do you think Ursula needed Akko for?"

Diana shrugged. "Doesn't involve us, does it? And besides, she could have been lending Akko a tip or two before going in. You know how Akko gets with these things."

Hannah chuckled weakly as Barbara agreed: "Yeah...she get's a bit too much." She glanced over at the red team and saw the perfect display of their comments. Akko was grinning mischievously, a hand already tense around her wand. "Like...a lot too much..."

"Alright class, listen here!" Everybody grew silent at watched Professor Ursula. "Today, you will put your skills tot he test. This tower is built on an ancient labyrinth filled with many dungeons and levels. For today's assignment—" the blackboard exploded with life, a reimagination of their activity playing out— "since we're not to go outside, you will have to go into the dungeons, find hidden treasure and retrieve it. _But_ , there are many creatures and monsters that lurk within these dungeons. These are obstacles in your quest. Nevertheless, the rarer item your team gets, the higher score you earn. The further down you go, the rarer the treasures are... Furthermore, the strength of the monsters also increase. You have three hours." Ursula flicked her wand and the dungeon doors creaked, the bars overlapping them sliding to the side.

"Surprise me with your talent and skills! Good luck! Begin."

The doors were open. A strange, cool breeze passed them, promptly sending shivers down Barbara and Hannah's spines. Diana couldn't have been any more ecstatic, despite her calm and collected expression. Though it wasn't impassive, and that detail alone alerted her friends.

"Come _on_ Lotte, Sucy! Let's go!" Akko said, practically tugging them in.

Barbara scowled. "Does she _have_ to be like some dumb puppy all the time?"

"Yeah, even Amanda's not _that_ excited," Hannah murmured, watching said witch as she entered the dungeons, anxiously looking through the tunnel.

Diana strode forward and said, "Come on Barbara, Hannah. Let's start with our assignment." They gulped and nodded, following obediently. The further away they walked from the doors, the more cold and unsympathetic the dungeons became. It didn't deter Diana, however, as she held up her wand and lit the hallway. "Which one shall we go?" she asked, quietly.

"I-I don't know. You pick."

"Yeah, why are you asking us?" Barbara added.

A smirk was born. "That one." She pointed towards the very end where the doorway was the most crumbled and deteriorated.

"That one?! Diana, you can't be serious!"

"Well, I _did_ ask you two, and you left the opinion to me." Diana looked over her shoulder and, by god, Hannah felt her heart skip a beat for a long moment. The grin she wore was sly, and the way it relaxed her face was charming; Hannah found it reminded her of Amanda's. "Come on. You two are safe as long as you're with me."

Barbara nodded. "You're right. I suppose we are." As they continued forth down the path of uncertainty, Barbara glanced to her side. With her voice low, she asked, "Is it just me, or is she having _fun?_ "

"It's not," Hannah murmured. "I don't think I've ever seen her smile this much before." Barbara couldn't help but agree. The continued to follow Diana through several halls and corners—filling their bags with some things that glinted. They could be worth some, right? At one corner, they nearly slammed into Diana. Her expressionless mask was pulled back on. They looked around Diana's side. Akko with Lotte and Sucy flanking her. "What are you doing here?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah. Don't you know this path is dangerous? Diana's able to come down here, what makes you think you can?"

Akko stuck her tongue out and then slid her eyes back to Diana. "I don't know what you two are talking about, we got here first!"

"Oh, establishing territories, are we?" Diana asked. "You know, Akko, that isn't the objective."

"I know what the objective is," Akko mumbled. "We already have some pretty good stuff with us too!"

Diana glanced behind her as Barbara and Hannah shifted awkwardly with their items. Sighing, she admits, "Perhaps that is the case, but by the end of the three hours, we'll see how that plays out."

Akko folded her arms and jutted her hip to the side. "You know, just because your Diana and all that, I can still get more stuff!"

"Is that so? You sound confident."

Lotte sighed and muttered, "Akko, come on...let's just go, we're loosing time."

"I'd listen to her, Akko," Diana said, adding cheekily, "you'll need all the time you can get."

"Right back at you!"

Diana chuckled and set down her wand, sliding it to her hip. Atsuko's recklessness was contagious that day. Diana's thoughts swarmed with pride, and the thought of adrenaline rushing through her veins as she battled monsters started to take control. "Are you saying I can't handle myself in here?"

Akko paused for a moment and Diana knew she didn't mean that. Even so: "Y-yes...? Yes...yeah..." Akko answered meekly.

Diana set her hands on her hips. "I'll have you know Akko—" her body surged with giddiness, something rare that compelled her further— "it doesn't matter what monsters are in here, I have a few tricks up my sleeves of my own." Akko blinked and Diana's figure warped suddenly. Everybody around her gasped as Diana didn't stand with her hands on her hips any longer, but instead was slithering down the stairs with a confident speed, teal eyes with slit pupils and scales as white as the moonlight.

Barbara and Hannah lingered, baffled just as Akko, Lotte and Sucy was. Sucy turned to Akko. "What, are you going to turn into a black fox and hunt her now?"

Akko scowled. "Oh, shut up Sucy! Let's go this way." They passed Hannah and Barbara.

"You know, I really don't think you can do more than Diana can in here," Sucy said.

"Yeah, Akko...we should just stay up here. The monsters are scarier down there anyway." Hannah and Barbara glanced at one another and hurriedly rushed down the stairs, following where Diana went. At the landing, they looked around.

"Where did she go?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know... But did you see that spell? She didn't even have to say an incantation!"

Hannah nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't be so worried after all." She glanced up the side of a wardrobe and halted. "Diana?"

There Diana was, perched at the top of the wardrobe. But she wasn't a snake any longer, her legs dangling casually against the side. "I'm glad you found me. I thought I'd have to continue down myself."

She hopped down and continued onwards, leaving Barbara to stutter, "B-but...Diana, why do we keep going down?! The monsters are really scary down there. Lotte even said—"

"You have me, okay? I won't let anything get to you two," Diana assured. "And besides, with all the time we're loosing making the trip, we'll make it up with the items we'll find."

"But what if we get lost?"

"O-or fall down some hole?"

"Or get eaten?!"

"Girls," Diana gasped, exasperated, "if you worry about that kind of thing, it will happen. Just relax. Nothing will hurt us badly, okay?"

"Badly...but still not-badly hurt us?"

Diana rolled her eyes and turned another corner. "Now this looks like a good place to start..." Hannah gulped and studied the room. Yup, just as she expected: Dark, dangerous, creepy, and spooky and dark and dangerous and creepy... They strolled in and immediately Diana launched herself backwards, tugging Hannah and Barbara along with her. A large, mantis-like monster had jumped from the ceiling, hissing and spitting aggressively. Hannah and Barbara screamed, clutching each other as Diana swiftly casted a few spells towards its legs, then its head.

Just like that, it was dealt with. She turned around. "See? You have nothing to worry about."

"Y-yeah...okay, yeah, we know. But can we go back? This place is really scary," Barbara said. 

"Yeah. Diana, please? We can go up higher."

"We have a bunch of stuff too... Like some chainmail, and a sword and knife and..." Barbara let her sentence die off as Diana sighed.

She shook her head and said, "But those are all common drops. Nobody would even dare call them rare items."

"But if we get enough of them...?"

"Would you carry all of it?" Diana asked.

Hannah paused and thought for a moment. "Well, if that means we can go up higher, yeah." Diana arched a brow, putting her hands on her hips. 

In unison, Hannah and Barbara clutched each other tighter, eyes locked over her shoulder. "What?"

"D-Diana..."

"Behind you..."

"A-a bull," the finished, together.

"A bull...?" Diana twisted around, and while there was no bull, there was certainly a minotaur. Her eyes widened. It was huge and irritated. And from what Diana remembered, its skin was thick, nearly impenetrable to magic. "Shit..."

"DIANA?! I THOUGHT YOU FUCKING SAID YOU WOULD PROTECT US!" Hannah screamed.

"AND I FUCKIN' WILL, HANNAH!" Diana barked back. "JUST GET SOMEWHERE SAFE IF YOU HAVE TO OR HELP ME!"

Begrudgingly, Barbara and Hannah whipped out their wands.

**. . .**

Lotte and Sucy couldn't imagine how Akko was able to skip the steps _downwards_ , considering that a) skipping steps while going down stairs was a feat on its own and b) the labyrinth's stairs proved to be unreliable in consistency the further they went down the levels. Essentially, going down was a lot harder than going up. (Well, without falling easily.) Not a new fact.

"Akko! Slow down!" Lotte called out.

Finally, Atsuko halted and turned around. Her breaths were heavy, which was unsurprising since she was chasing a "little bugger" (her words) down the steps as well; again, a feat. "Why? Diana's going to get ahead if we don't continue onwards!"

Lotte sighed and said, "Well, at least... Hold on." She tapped her skull lantern. "Come on out," she whispered softly. Briefly, the light in the lantern was doused before a spirit stuck its head out. It chirped as it hopped down, prancing along the steps in front of Akko. In a burst of blue light, the staircase was far easier to see. "There we go, now we can see where we're going."

"But the danger's part of the fun..." Akko grumbled. Even so, now with the better light source, Akko saw the little bugger crawling towards the ceiling. "There you are!" She whipped her wand and a small explosion lifted it off its feet, sending it tumbling down the stairs. "Get back here!"

"Akko! We're not supposed to _hunt_ the monsters! We're supposed to avoid them!"

"And remember what Ursula told you before?" Sucy added, irritably.

Akko continued whipping her wand as they made it to a floor, cutting off the stairs. "This isn't a dragon, now is it?" She glanced back and forth, stomping her foot on the ground. "Damn it, where did it go now?"

"Akko, that's not really import—"

Screams interrupted Lotte. Akko turned at her heel towards the danger. "Come on, we can help them!" she said confidently, bolting towards the troubled witches. Sucy and Lotte glanced at one another before charging after her. They found themselves in a large space. Akko gasped, "A minotaur?" as they entered. She blinked and narrowed her eyes. Packed in the corner behind a defensive spell stood Diana with Hannah and Barbara behind her. Akko scoffed. "'Are you saying I can't handle myself here?'"

Diana's attention—along with the minotaur, Hannah and Barbara—snapped towards Akko. "Not now Akko, just help with the damn thing!"

Akko nodded dutifully and aimed. With the same, wordless spell, she sent the minotaur staggering backwards, clutching its eye. However, at the second strike, she hit the side of its head and felt the spell rebound off its skin, whacking her instead. She grunted as she was slammed to the ground.

Diana quickly disarmed her shield, seizing the opportunity to attack with the minotaur distracted. First she needed to expose its vulnerable flesh from underneath its skin. Then she'd be able to attack appropriately. "All the swords!" she yelled. Amongst the cluttered bones of fallen victims, swords rose to the occasion. "Become my blade, and strike once more!"

The swords were swift to penetrate the minotaur's back, successfully breaking through the skin. However, they also became lodged as well, definitely angering it further. It reared its ugly head and roared, Diana quickly sending a fire spell to its other eye. It howled in pain, clenching its jaws. Sucy, shuffling with a potion, said, "Well, looks like it's my turn." She strode forward, raising her voice: "Hey, over here!"

Irritated, the minotaur twisted around. It snorted in Sucy's face.

"Open wide."

The minotaur roared, then choked as Sucy poured her potion in its mouth. It stumbled backwards, its body becoming distorted and horrific by the minute. Everybody watched as the minotaur became a grotesque mass of struggling muscle and bone, its screams deafening. Barbara gagged at the sight, holding her stomach. The minotaur melted away, searing a hole in the floor.

And the threat was there no longer. (...obviously.)

As Barbara gave into her vomit in the corner, Hannah grimaced at the stench now wreaking havoc in the room. She wasn't the only one. Barbara (obviously) scowled once she was done along with Lotte, Akko and Diana. Sucy, it seemed, was the only one immune, chuckling to herself. "Must've been a bit too strong..." she murmured, looking down the hole. "Went right through a couple of floors too."

Diana thinned her lips in thought. With her decision made, she said, "We can continue down this way."

"Y-you actually want to continue?!" Hannah gasped.

"You want us to go through that hole!" Barbara whined, "Diana! It still has guts and blood all over it!"

"Then don't touch it!" Diana snapped. She exhaled and said, more calmly, "Stay up here with these three, if you want then. _I_ , however—" she whipped out her pocket broom and slipped it over the end of her wand— "will go down alone if I have to. I'm not afraid." Atsuko snorted, finally nearing the edge of the hole. Diana stared at her, a brow raised. "Excuse me?"

Akko didn't answer immediately. She instead looked down the hole. "If you think you can go down there alone, you're an idiot."

"E- _Excuse me?!_ "

"Y-yeah!" Hannah crossed her arms, snapping with her voice wavered, "Look who you're talking to!"

"Look who you're talking to, too!" Akko retorted. "That minotaur just had you three backed-up in a corner until we came! Diana, you can't go down there _alone_."

"Which is why we're going down too," Barbara hissed. The tremble in her hand revealed her inner dialogue: _What the fuck am I doing?_ She raised her wand with the pocket-broom alongside Hannah.

Diana glanced at Akko, gaze smug. "Worked itself out." With that, she jumped in the hole, her wand carrying her down gently. Both Hannah and Barbara audibly gulped before following suit.

Akko growled to herself. "Why is she so-so..."

"Arrogant?" Lotte offered.

"Full-of-herself?"

" _Cocky?!_ " Akko finished with a snap.

Sucy shrugged. "That works."

Akko huffed and said, "We have to go down after her."

"But we don't have brooms. _And_ you can't fly either."

Atsuko scowled though didn't argue. It wasn't like Sucy was wrong. She crouched over the edge, however, and yelled, "DIANA! I FUCKING SWEAR IF YOU DIE BECAUSE YOU'RE A MORON, I—I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

It took a couple of seconds, but she got an answer: "AND THEN WHAT, AKKO?! I WOULD HAUNT YOU, YOU KNOW!"

To Lotte and Sucy's surprise, Akko chuckled. With a cheeky grin, she thought. "I WOULD PISS ON YOUR GRAVE!"

Sucy leaned to the side, towards Lotte. "They seem like they're actually enjoying themselves," she whispered quietly.

"You think?" Lotte replied dryly. "I feel like they are the only two who are in their element."

"How come?"

"YOU BETTER HOPE YOU'RE DEAD NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, AKKO!"

Lotte gave a shared look with Sucy. "They're the only ones having a pissing match right now. Not even Amanda's doing anything like this." They watched as Akko stood back up, rather pleased with herself. She took a step forward—onto slimy, leftover meat. Lotte gasped as Akko yelped, slipping backwards into the hole. "Akko!" she screamed.

Both listened to their friend, scrambling to the edge, as she shrieked, "DIANA! LOOK OUT!" In the dark, though, neither could see anything.

Akko barely could with the three, small glowing orbs below her. But they were getting closer, and fast. She saw Diana, her eyes wide. "A-Akko! What—" She grunted as Akko slammed into her, barreling towards the wall with great speed. Hannah and Barbara weren't in the clear either. They all screamed, having lost their wands. With barely a second to register the strong, thick vines crawling up the walls, Atsuko whipped out a hand.

She grunted as her body slammed into the rocky surface, then once again when weight grappled around her waist. Akko tightened her jaw as the girls screamed, all four slipping down the vine by half a meter. With heavy breaths, Akko briefly glanced around her waist. Diana held her tightly with Hannah and Barbara around her legs. Akko eased herself up with several attempts until she was able to find a better position to remain stable.

She heard Lotte ask Sucy where they were, worry drowning her usually mellow voice. A light flashed onto the girls. Pebbles crumbled around Akko's grip and she extended her left arm, elbow bent. "There they are. Lucky Akko was able to catch the last of the vines on the wall, and that it wasn't smooth all the way down."

Teasingly, Akko grunted, "What...were you...saying?"

Diana felt a whimper escape her throat as she clutched Akko tighter. "Not right now, _Akko_ ," she warned.

Akko's chuckle morphed into another grunt. "D-Diana, grab my arm and try to hoist yourself up more," she wheezed, feeling the two girls at Diana's legs struggle continuously. "Come on, they're going to loose their grip. They need more to hold onto."

Diana gasped as shakily reached to hook her arm around Akko's; her body was barely able to sustain the weight. Diana could only wonder how Akko managed to be so still at this rate. "But your arm...it could—"

"You won't be holding onto my elbow. Wrap it around my shoulder." She swallowed and obeyed. "Hannah, Barbara, you good?"

"Yes..."

"Sort of..."

Atsuko inhaled deeply before ordering, "Actually Diana, hold on. You two find something to grab onto. The wall or me. Then you need to move up with Diana."

"Okay," Hannah mumbled.

"Yeah..." Diana felt them slowly grope the wall for anything to hold onto, cringing as Barbara let out a sharp cry. " _Fuck_ , my nail!" It took her a moment until she found Akko's sturdy, red belt where Hannah wrapped her arm around Akko's calf; the wall bore nothing for their hands to grab onto, though allowed some support for their feet.

"Okay, okay..." Akko murmured. "Now go."

Diana felt Akko brace herself, then reached up. She hooked it around Akko's extended elbow, gripping her shoulder as Hannah and Barbara heaved themselves upwards. After a few minutes' worth of struggling, they stopped. Diana, her head resting in the middle of Akko's back, felt more secure. The two witches below clutched to both her and Atsuko, whose shoulder felt tense and strong underneath her touch.

Diana swallowed. With everything calming down, she was able to truly feel the predicament they were in. Hannah and Barbara breathing against her hips, legs solidly on the wall. Akko's slight trembles after holding them in place for so long. Akko's breathing with her other hand clutching her torso; Diana felt her ribs and muscle just above her hip. And her heart, it was pumping hard and Diana could hear it. She also felt Akko's strong thighs against hers with her stomach attached to—

She didn't even notice the blush streaking her cheeks until she realized just how close to Akko she was. And why just with Akko? It wasn't like Hannah and Barbara weren't right up against her as well.

But, then again, their bodies didn't feel as athletic as Atsuko's. Against Akko, Diana felt protected, like nothing would ever come to harm—despite dangling off the side of a cavern wall. It felt like an eternity had passed, and she was sure Hannah and Barbara's life flashed before their eyes.

"Are you guys alright?" Lotte called down. It may have been just an intense few minutes.

"Y-yeah," Akko projected her voice, "I-I think so!"

"What do we do?" Lotte asked.

Before Akko answered, all four gasped. Hannah slipped and wrenched herself up to Akko's belt, clambering up. Barbara was thrown off-balance and hurled herself upwards as well. Akko hissed, " _Watch_ it, whoever's grabbing my ass!"

"Mine-too," Diana grumbled forcefully.

"Sorry," both apologized.

Akko, who began to loose some of her stamina, said, "Just go and get help! We'll probably be all the way down by then...we'll figure something out, right?" She muttered, "Who still has their wand?"

"You do," Barbara answered. "It's still in your belt."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you want us to leave you?!" Lotte asked again.

"Yeah! We have a wand. I'm sure Diana could do something!" As Sucy and Lotte strode away hesitantly, Akko sighed.

"You moron, they could've done something!" Barbara argued.

"I don't know if they had anything that'd reach us. I don't think we're at all near the same levels." She winced, the weight burning her muscles. "Come on, Diana, do something!"

"Me?! I don't have a free hand!"

"None of us do," Akko retorted.

Diana grumbled. She tested the support the wall gave her foothold. "I'm going to get it... Don't anybody do anything." The three witches remained as still as possible as she slowly began to untangle her hand from around Akko's waist. Everything in her was telling her otherwise. Feeling Akko against her was everything she wanted at the moment.

Akko tensed as she reached towards where she thought the wand would be. " _Diana..._ " Atsuko snapped. She didn't have to. Diana quickly removed her hand from the end of her skirt sheepishly. Knowing where her skirt ended, however, helped. Diana reached up, her blush blooming darker—too high. And dangerously close. On the third attempt, she secured the wand. "Okay... You have it?"

"Yes..." Light illuminated from the end and Diana, pressed against the wall and (most notably) Akko, pointed it down and saw the ground below. Three wands glinted at the bottom as well. "Hannah, Barbara. We're going to let go—"

"WHAT?"

"—once I cast a heavier bubble to the ground. I think it's the only thing that'd be able to handle the weight, and anything lighter would pop if we tried floating down."

"...a-are you sure?"

Akko grunted and Diana felt her heart pulse even harder. "We have no other option right now, and we don't have time." With confidence, Diana murmured the incantation and a large bubble erupted from the wand. As predicted, it flew to the bottom precariously, though didn't pop. "Come on." Neither let go. Both were struck with absolute fear. "Or I'll do it..."

Diana pushed off of Akko and both Hannah and Barbara shrieked. The fell down, though were immediately met with a soft, cushioned landing. As Diana slid off the bubble, Hannah and Barbara blinked in surprise. She held up the wand with its light. "Akko?"

"Still here."

She rolled her eyes. "Drop down." Hannah and Barbara quickly scrambled off and seconds thereafter, Akko jumped. The bubble popped soon after Akko landed, sending her across the—wherever they were. Once ensuring that Atsuko was alright, picking up a wand from the ground, Diana looked around. "We're still in the dungeon," she said with the brick floor confirming that observation. It was broken, however, with rocks and puddles scattered about. "Probably the lowest part, but we are." As Akko made it to her side, Diana said, "And thank-you Akko. I don't think we would've gotten out of that alive."

"Sure we would've!" Hannah snapped. "We wouldn't have been in that mess if it weren't for her being an idiot and falling off!"

Atsuko scowled and hissed crossly, "I slipped, okay?! I didn't mean to!"

"Well what were you doing at the edge anyway?!" Barbara joined in. "Diana didn't say _you_ were supposed to come along!"

Diana sighed tiredly. Akko argued, "If my memory isn't shit, she said she was going to go down alone before you two hopped right in!"

"So?! We're on the same team!"

"We're in the same year!"

"We—"

"All of you, _shut it!_ " Diana snarled, her temper rather difficult to control by this point. "Yes, Akko was the cause of it, but she redeemed herself by being the only one holding onto the wall for _all of us!_ Shit happens, get over yourselves!" She turned towards Akko and added, "But they do have a point as well. Did you actually slip or where you trying to follow us down?"

Akko crossed her arms. " _No_. I slipped. But I'm kind of glad I did if you still think you three are able to defend yourselves if anything happened!"

"They're with me! Why do you care anyway?!"

"What if something happened to _you_ _?!_ " Atsuko stumbled over herself for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Look, I'm sorry for falling over the edge. But I still say you're an idiot if you think you can take on anything down here."

"And you can?"

"Well...no—"

"Exactly, Akko. Out of all of us, I'm the most practiced. And I've researched most of everything in this dungeon," Diana said, her voice softer. She sighed and added, before Hannah and Barbara could say anything, "Let's find a way out so you can go." They started wondering towards what seemed like a tunnel that was crudely dug out.

"And you—"

" _Akko._ "

The witch halted. "You think you're all-that, don't you?"

Diana frowned. "I know my skills, Akko," she murmured, continuing forth. She heard a huff and rolled her eyes.

"No, you don't. That's what makes us different."

"No! Diana has more power in an eyelash than you ever will!" Hannah snapped.

Diana held up a hand, quieting her. She spat, "How so? You're always throwing yourself into situations without even thinking!"

"Yeah, but I never believe I'm going to come out of them in one piece!" Akko snapped. Her words halted Diana in her tracks and turned her around. "But you do," she finished.

"We're finding a way out and you're going to join your friends," Diana murmured, continuing down the tunnel. Akko grumbled. There was no convincing her, was there? They turned a corner and Diana jerked her chin. "There. An exit." And indeed it was, pushed to the corner of a great chamber, the walls glowing mysteriously. Akko didn't go immediately, and Diana didn't argue; there was no convincer _her_ either, was there?

Diana's gaze continued to wander around the room, landing on— "An iron maiden?" Hannah whispered. She glanced at Diana, holding up her wand for more light. "Please, I know what you're thinking. Can't we just get out of here? We have a bunch of— Where's are collectables?! Akko! You made us loose—"

"Akko, go to the exit and leave us to this _alone_ ," Diana ordered, promptly cutting off Hannah.

"No! I know what you're going to do, Diana, and I'm not going to let you do it. Leave it alone," Akko said, arms folded. "Just go upstairs and find some other stuff. You still have time."

Diana eyed Akko over her shoulder. "Fine. Stay then. But I'm opening it."

Atsuko scowled and looked at the iron maiden. Immediately she swore to herself. "Diana, _no!_ Not that one!" 

"You're not going to stop me, Akko!" Diana hissed, whipping out her wand. She wasn't an idiot. She was _not_ an idiot! She could handle herself same as Akko— _more_ than Akko, really. She could. She really could and she would show Akko! She would show how good of a witch she was, and not just because she was a _Cavendish._

"No! Diana, don't do this! That's _really_ not something you're supposed to open!"

Hannah and Barbara couldn't even contribute. They've never seen Diana this visibly irritated. Akko grumbled and did the only thing she thought of with Diana's wand ready in the air: She pounced.

Diana grunted as they slammed to the ground, twisting to her back until she found her hands were locked in place. "Get- _off_ ," she hissed through her teeth, scrambling with her legs before they, too, were pinned down by Akko. She stopped struggling and stared up at her. Dark eyes were on the iron maiden, her gaze darting up and down. "What?"

"It's sealed, Diana," Akko muttered, eyes finally meeting hers. Diana felt heat swarm her gut and chest. Atsuko's stare was just as fired-up as hers. Just how strong was Akko, exactly? Diana had the sudden urge to feel for herself—reach around her back, feel up her stomach, caress her arms and shoulders, it really didn't matter. She was glad the room wasn't lit enough to reveal her deep blush.

"S-sealed? For what reason?"

"For a good one! Don't open it!"

"You can read that?" Barbara asked.

Akko nodded. "Lucky for me, it's in Japanese." Diana continued to stare at Akko's neck curiously; her tie was gone and her shirt had lost its button—probably due to crashing into the wall. She never noticed Akko's neck before, though Diana knew she never saw a scrap of Akko's upper body. She got enough leg, including the taunt thighs holding her legs down, warming her gut further.

"Then what does it say?"

"Directly, it's a weird wording. 'Dragon kept box do not open, it is dangerous, please.'" Akko considered for a moment. "Huh. At least they were polite about it."

 _Would she notice if I just..._ Diana's eyes widened and she jerked away from Akko, successfully shoving her off. "That— That's not the point," she gasped, her thoughts rampant on whatever the _fuck_ she was just considering. "This is still in this dungeon and our assignment is to loot whatever we can!"

"Listen to me!" Akko snapped, getting to her feet. "I may not be as good of a witch as you are but I know damn well you shouldn't open that! That's the point! There's seals on it for a reason! _Please_ , Diana!"

The way she bore her teeth sent goosebumps across Diana's back. She swallowed and wrung her wrists. "Then go if you're so bad! You would just be dead weight anyway!" Diana barked. Akko grew quiet.

"Oh," she scoffed, "I see how it is. Fine then. Go and open it, I don't care. I'm just dead weight anyway."

As Diana watched Akko walk towards the exit, fists balled, she felt a pang in her chest. She swallowed, though ignored her urges tugging her to chase after Akko. But her urges proved themselves distasteful the minute prior.

Akko didn't turn back. She scowled and ranted in her native language, calling Diana every foul name in the books. And when she ran out of them, she used more creative insults to give her the energy to walk all those steps up the dungeon levels. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I hate her," she cried softly, storming up the steps. "I-I hate her. Why does she have to be such a bitch?" She halted for a moment, staring at the stairs with her fist tight around her wand. Akko shook her head. "No. She can handle herself..." She frowned. "She can handle herself..."

**. . .**

"D-Diana...?"

She remained still as Hannah crept forward carefully, unknowing of her temperament. The further they had travelled down the dungeons, Hannah realized Diana _was_ much like a snake; she was intimidating and unreadable as need be. "Yes?" Hannah relaxed. Her voice was soft, no malice woven within. But Hannah was still uneasy from Diana's troubled gaze. She knew it wasn't because they were in the deepest, darkest dungeon they could find.

"Should we go follow Akko? I mean, I hate to admit it, but she _was_ right, you know... There are still things on higher levels."

"Yeah," agreed Barbara. "And we still have the time to..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Diana stared at the iron maiden. Both Barbara and Hannah could only wonder what was going through her head.

A war. That's what.

Diana felt her thoughts get tugged and pulled to one side, then another, and then a new direction. She was witnessing a battle not from a birds-eye view, but from underneath, trampled into the dirt. Diana hadn't a clue as to what was going through her head either. Except for one thing. She was going to do something she never had to before: prove herself. To _Akko,_ of all people.

She was a powerful witch. She knew it. Didn't Akko see that? Couldn't she tell that Diana could defend herself? Protect people? Protect _her?_

Diana raised her wand surely. She was going to do it. Nothing was going to stop her. Nobody. With a slash in the air, the seals were sliced. They burned themselves away, and Diana heard her friends coward behind her.

The iron maiden creaked, its doors revealing a pile of dust and smoke. "T-there's nothing in it?"

"No..." Diana whispered, her wand to the ground. She definitely heard something small stumble out. As everything cleared, they grew puzzled. "A little...lizard?"

"What kind of dragon is that?" Barbara asked, poking her head out from behind Diana. "A snake with legs?"

It squinted at them with yellow eyes, its deer-like ears folded towards them. It was small, its body curling around itself as a snake's would. It tapped its small feet against the ground, three long talons on each foot. Light maroon scales covered its back while a bleached purple coated its underside. Along its spine was a line of grey fur, meeting at its jaws to form a sort of beard, then sprouting a long mustache not unlike whiskers. As it tilted its head to the side, Diana noticed its horns arching out of its head.

"I guess Akko was wrong after all," Hannah said. "It's just a puny little thing."

Barbara raised her wand. "Come on little squirt, here's something!" A zap of energy came from the end of her wand. The dragon—whatever it was—jerked backwards, flailing. Once done, it coughed and stretched. It now walked easier on its feet. Yellow eyes stared at the girls, waiting.

"And how about this?" Hannah sent a violent flame from the end of her wand. This time, it was ready. It opened its mouth and swallowed it whole. The dragon (because realistically, what lizard has _fur_ and facial hair?) belched and twisted its body. "Stronger than we thought," murmured Hannah, stepping from behind Diana. With Barbara, they together silently agreed to give the dragon all of their strength and show it who would win.

Diana, however, stared, gears working inside her head. _Why isn't it attacking?_ With the spells, grey smoke began to form, engulfing the strange dragon completely.

To Hannah and Barbara, the dragon gave a roar, signaling their soon-to-be victory.

To Diana, she heard its glee: _"Yes. Feed me, children..."_

"Stop," she said hoarsely. Something slammed into her gut, and she didn't know if it was dread, regret or guilt. Probably all three. Most _definitely_ all three. "Stop," she repeated, her voice gaining volume. _If it can talk, it wasn't a monster kept here. It's a prisoner!_ "STOP!" she bellowed, once catching sight of a whipping tail several meters from them. Diana clutched the back of Hannah and Barbara's battered robes and pulled them away from the smoke roughly. They staggered backwards; neither expected that kind of strength to come from Diana, even if she did ride a 18-hands thoroughbred.

"What?" Hannah asked. 

"Weren't we winning?"

"No," Diana gasped. "No. You were...were feeding it." The smoke dissipated, revealing the dragon once more. Only, it wasn't so shrimp-y now. It stared at them, eye-level. It bore its teeth, causing Barbara and Hannah to flinch against Diana.

_"More. Give me more!"_

_"No!"_

Hannah and Barbara were startled by the guttural snarl that came from Diana. _"What are you doing here, dragon?"_ They couldn't believe their ears—the dragon included. 

"A-are you speaking to it?"

"I mastered this language when I was twelve," Diana murmured quietly. She turned back to the dragon.

 _"You speak my tongue?"_ it asked, intrigued. _"Impressive... It is not easy for the human throat, I know."_

 _"Answer me."_ The girls still winced. A language sounding so vile and cruel had no right coming as naturally out of Diana. But it did. It slithered and hissed out of her. She really was a snake, wasn't she? Hannah and Barbara gulped and backed a few steps away, eyes steady on Diana. How much did they _really_ know her?

The dragon narrowed its yellow eyes. _"What are_ you _doing down here? This is my chamber."_

_"It will not be for long."_

It scowled. _"Do not threaten me, child. I know what strings to pull."_ Diana backed away as the dragon began to pace towards her, its body rhythmic like a serpent. _"You should have left with that girl. You want to, yes?"_ Barbara and Hannah attached themselves to a wall as the dragon reared. 

_"I do not know what you are talking about."_

_"Liar."_ Diana flinched. _"I do not like liars. I am willing to interrupt my meal to teach them proper civility."_ Diana staggered backwards as the dragon came upon her. She made to dart away but to no avail. It twisted and turned around her body, forcing her to the ground. She struggled against the force, teeth grit.

"Diana!" Barbara yelled.

"What do we do?!"

"Nothing!" Diana snapped. "I can deal with this!" She then hissed, _"Let me go!"_

Unwanted feelings swarmed her as she was reminded of only a few minutes prior. But this wasn't Akko. This was _wrong_. This monster, it had to stop. She croaked and wriggled, but the dragon constricted. _"You are just like any bitch I have come across,"_ the dragon gloated. _"You liked being held down by that bitch. And do not lie to me, I can see everything through the holes in that cage."_ The dragon squeezed and Diana grunted, her arm pinned to her side. _"You want her to do it again, yes? But...it is curious. Bitches usually want to be covered by bucks, not another bitch."_

_"Stop it."_

The dragon's tight lips curled into a smirk. It did tell her it knew what strings to pull, right? _"You want it, you liar. You are a bitch, like all the rest. You want to be covered. By another bitch."_

Diana hissed, kneeing its side violently. _"What do you want from me?!"_

 _"Nothing. You have no value to me,"_ the dragon answered cruelly. _"The only thing you_ can _do is feed me. I have been starved. I am hungry for life..."_

 _"No!"_ Diana snapped. The dragon growled and she cried out, its grip around her body tightening.

 _"You are just a little bitch ready to be covered,"_ it snapped before wrenching itself away from Diana. Once it left her, she coughed and clutched her chest tightly. Anger boiled her blood, clogging her rationality. It studied the cave, meanwhile, searching for an exit. It glanced at Diana. _"What,"_ it taunted, _"your feelings are hurt?"_ It began to laugh mightily. Diana stood there, fists trembling.

Hannah and Barbara could only watch as something in Diana snapped. They didn't know what exactly she was holding back, or how long it had been stewing for.

All they knew was that she charged at the dragon, livid. A fire seemed to dance in her eyes, and they didn't know whether or not it was their fear or reality that her pupils became slits, eyes a startling teal. The dragon was unamused, ready to smack her against the wall and just be done with it. However, her features warped dramatically as she pounced, jaws widening as two long fangs protruded. It shrieked, terrified as a large white snake wrapped herself around it, fangs deep in its neck. The dragon squirmed and writhed, its roars out of sheer pain and fear—far from gleeful.

Hannah and Barbara clutched one another, the glow of the walls almost blinding as the shadows of the two monsters— _No! Diana is_ not _a monster!_ Hannah thought after a fleeting moment of panic. Their thrashing shadows scaled the walls, startling Barbara. Diana's hiss sliced their ears as the dragon's roar thundered throughout the room. The white snake struck its neck again, and again, and again. As the dragon twisted, Diana held on.

It jerked and a fang snapped, and the dragon threw Diana across the room. At the first bounce, the white snake whipped her body. At the second bounce, Diana flailed, grunting at the final impact. Shaken, she picked herself up, blood spilling from her lips. She gasped and Hannah saw one of her canines missing. Both witches stared on at the scene, unsure of which to be more wary of: the dragon or the witch?

The dragon sank into the wall, one eye half-closed with several bleeding holes on its neck. He squinted at Diana. The hair. Her pale skin. But not her eyes... And she's younger. How long had it been trapped again? _Of course..._ Clarity hit the dragon. Slowly, it murmured, "Cavendiss..." _Yes...of course. How could I be so ignorant? So blind? It is as clear as day..._ It whined before jogging forward, taking to the air. It's eyes were not of primitive hunger any longer, but what Diana saw to be sophistication and confusion. The girls frowned as he stuttered in broken, cruel English: "M-Miss...I— I so-orry..."

It slithered across the room like it was filled with water, eventually finding the walkway that the witches entered from.

Just like that, the dragon left.

Diana stared at the ground, heaving with an open mouth. She watched blood spill onto the ground in dark drops. She clenched her jaw as a sharp pain stabbed the gap where her snapped canine was and spat. The rest of her tooth clacked against the floor, roots and all. With a shaky hand, she gripped her forehead as her other arm clutched her torso tightly. 

Tentatively, Hannah and Barbara stepped closer to her. "D-Diana...?" the latter asked. Diana looked up. "What...what did it say to you? For you to...um..."

"Attack it like that?" Hannah finished quietly.

Diana shook her head and averted her eyes before getting to her feet, unbalanced. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I'm such a fool..."

"No, no you're not, Diana," Barbara said in a rush.

Hannah nodded. "Yeah. You're not."

"No," Diana murmured, "no, I am. That's all I have been today. A bloody fool." Both her friends remained silent. She took a step forward, towards the exit. "Come on. Let's go." Obediently (because why would they do anything different?), Hannah and Barbara followed Diana towards the staircase. At the doorway, Diana grunted, another sharp pain taking hold; only this time, it felt like an explosion in her upper jaw. Both Hannah and Barbara gasped in concern as she breathed heavily, mouth open as a black liquid began to drip from the hole in her mouth. 

Only, as Hannah saw, there was no gap any longer but a fresh, new canine replacing the last.

Black oozed onto her hand, forming a small puddle at the palm. Barbara reached forward. Diana snapped, "Don't touch me." 

"W-why...?"

Diana flicked some of the black onto her tattered dress sleeve, and her friends watched in horror as the cloth was eaten away. "I don't want you to get hurt. So don't touch it." And in addition to their terrified puzzlement, Diana began to lick her hand clean. She continued up the stairs, leaving them both to scramble after her. Her mouth watered. Sweet. Savory. Sour. Salty. Bitter. All at once. It was far too enticing for her own good.

Diana was disgusting.

Her eyes began to burn. She was a disgusting fool, wasn't she?

In panic, she jerked her sleeve away once Barbara made to reach for it. "I said, don't touch me!" she croaked.

Barbara, with her hand still in the air, blinked. "What...? But— Diana?" Before she could ask anything else, Diana turned herself away, not allowing to reveal her glassy eyes any longer. She rubbed them dry for a few moments as they walked up the staircase. After a few minutes, she frowned and halted as the walls glowed in front of them.

Akko poked her head out from around the corner. "A-Akko?" Diana whispered softly.

Sheepishly, Akko scratched the back of her neck, lowering her glowing wand. "Y-yeah... Um... I was coming back to...see if you were...good and, uh...yeah." She worked her jaw. "I'm sorry for...leaving you like that. All of you, really."

Diana wrung her wrist as her friends grumbled their thanks. "And I'm sorry too, Akko. I never should have said some of the things I...did."

"It's okay." Akko studied Diana, eyes narrowed at the new scratches that cluttered her exposed skin, and the dried blood and—what was that black stuff?—trailing from the corners of her mouth like blotchy rivers. "Did...something happen?"

"No." Diana forced her mouth shut. That answer came out too quickly for her liking. "No," she continued, her mind rushed with emotions she didn't quite understand. "Nothing happened. We're just going up to the top to leave."

"Oh, okay!" Akko said with a grin. She walked beside Diana with Hannah and Barbara trailing them, her eyes kept on her. Diana knew she was still suspicious; there was no smile, nor bubbly talk. Nothing she wanted. Nothing that she didn't even knew she liked about Akko.

Diana avoided her eyes all together. She didn't even give the chance to see the disappointment in them.

Sooner than later, to her pleasure, they reached the first floor. Akko put her wand back on her hip and led the way towards the main exit. For the first time, Diana strolled _behind_ Hannah and Barbara, lost in her ravaging thoughts.

_"You're just like any other bitch I have come across..."_

She swallowed, clutching her wrist firmly. Looking up at Akko in the dungeon...it was the same that she had done in class, wasn't it? Fleeting moments during lessons, sure, but all the same.

_No, they're not. Only when she's called on._

_"I do not like liars..."_

Diana tensed as they made their way to the door, Professor Ursula waiting. Why did that damn dragon have to linger in her thoughts? 

"Do you girls have anything?" Ursula asked as the large doors were shut. They were the last ones. Three hours had passed.

Hannah shook her head and glanced at Diana tentatively. Realizing that she wasn't going to answer, that Diana was too far in her own head, she replied, "No. We lost what we found."

"That's alright. This was for participation anyway," Ursula said. "You four weren't here for it, but the yellow team found the most valuable item in there." She gestured to the side where Wangari hopped about with the two others, holding the rare item high and proud. "Anyway," she said with a sigh, "I will be heading off now, and because this was a longer class, the rest are cancelled today."

"Oh, that's good, right Diana?"

Diana nodded softly, uncharacteristically agreeing. Hannah glanced at Barbara, who too looked worried. She also watched Akko for a moment, startled by just how un-childlike she appeared; with the hair that was usually tied back down, Hannah noticed how Akko's bangs were naturally uneven, almost covering her eyes. Akko kept her gaze on Diana, suspicious. It was then that both Barbara and Hannah saw the strong woman that she'd grow into someday, the very same that Lotte caught glimpses of before.

And speaking of Lotte, she jogged hurriedly towards the group with Sucy meandering behind her, nearly tackling Akko to the ground. "Oh my god! You're alright! I'm sorry we couldn't find a way to you guys, but time went out and—"

With a soft chuckle, a smile spread across Akko's lips, concealing her maturity. "Well we all got out, safe and sound!" Abruptly, Diana started forward, leaving the group. Hannah and Barbara scrambled after her, just as wordless as Diana. Atsuko frowned, though added, "We can celebrate with some food. I'm starved... Did you guys get the stuff we found?"

Lotte nodded. "Yeah, and we found some other things too. We were fifth behind violet, green, orange...pink?"

"Magenta," Sucy corrected.

"Oh, right. And yellow, of course."

As they chatted their way out of the dungeon hall, Ursula lingered by the dungeon door. The peculiarities of Diana stuck out to her like a sore thumb, and she knew she wasn't the only one that felt that way. And her eyes, Ursula saw something lurk within them. Something unnerving. She couldn't put her finger on it, however. It was at the tip of her tongue, almost.

Ursula slipped off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. And that feeling buried in her gut, it hadn't let up. _A day of destiny... A day of destiny..._

She couldn't wrap her head around it. Looking at all their cuts, bruises and tattered clothes, something happened in that dungeon on that day of destiny.

_But...what exactly?_

**. . .**

Lightning crackled behind the large window of their suite, illuminating Diana's pacing shadow. Thunder pounded not a second later, silencing Diana's creaking steps against the floorboard. Her vest had been torn away after dinner, and she rubbed her skirt—clean and new—nervously. Her tie had been thrown to her bed as well, buttons undone on her shirt.

This wasn't a sight Hannah and Barbara thought they'd see. Nor was it one they wanted to.

Diana was scared shitless.

Hannah thought that she'd wear the floor away to a trench with the amount of pacing Diana was doing; dinner had been several long hours ago, she and Barbara were both in their nighties, and curfew had ended an hour ago, thus leaving them with a single candle's light to avoid any unwanted attention to the patrolling golems and goblins.

They glanced at one another and nodded. Barbara was the one to start: "Diana...? What...do we do?"

"I don't know."

"Well, um..." Hannah said, clearing her voice, "did you research about that dragon?"

"Yes. It's a Japanese dragon. They are able to fly without wings, and they have far more abilities than European dragons. They can shapeshift into humans—" Hannah and Barbara shared a look— "for one thing, which requires more magical energy to sustain." Diana frowned and gripped her arms tightly. "There— There was a reason why it was locked away." _Akko was right._ She folded her arms and gripped her temple. _I'm such a fool. Why didn't I just listen and follow her?_

Hannah rubbed her forearm. "Oh," she said softly. "So...will we not speak of this? Will we get in trouble—"

"Of course we'll be in trouble!" Diana hissed. At Hannah's flinch she sunk in her frame, halting. "I— I'm sorry, Hannah. I didn't mean..."

"I know."

Barbara watched Diana closely, her clutch around an old book tightening. As Diana slumped into an armchair, through with her pacing, Barbara thought of the many things her grandfather told her. _"Snakes aren't evil creatures,"_ he had said once, _"they're just frighteningly frightened. They will lash out and strike, but they truly mean no harm."_ Diana rested her elbows on her knees and rubbed her neck, eyes hard to the floor. _"They're just...frightened to the bone. More so than you, most of the time."_

She nudged Hannah's side and jerked her chin. Her friend nodded. "So...Diana? I— I have your wand for you." She stood and walked to Diana who sat up. Once there was a murmur of thanks, Hannah explained, "You left it when the dragon attacked you...the first time before you..."

Diana grew silent and still. She gave a soft nod after a while. Barbara flipped through the pages of her book and said, "So, Diana, you didn't use magic to turn yourself into that snake, did you?" Diana swallowed, staring at Barbara anxiously. The raven-haired girl didn't move; Diana was already backed into a corner enough as it was.

She read through her book for a moment, rereading a paragraph her grandfather had written several decades ago: _Basilisks are not identified by breed like adders or vipers. They can be both or neither. And there are other creatures alike such as hounds, cats or rodents that behave in the same way. They are not even snakes at all, but humans in disguise. Those who can turn into creatures without metamorphosis are rare enough, but those who can turn into basilisks are rarer..._

But she did hold up her book with a drawing of a giant snake besides the paragraphs of text. "You can turn yourself into a basilisk right?"

Diana nodded again, then murmured with a croak, "It's a trait within the Cavendish lineage to transform into snakes. My grandmother did, and my aunt. As... As far as I can tell, though, my grandma and I are the only ones who've been able to do it without...magic. It skips at least a generation..." She rested her hand and watched Barbara sadly, and murmured, "But I suppose you already knew that, didn't you? Your grandfather was a Henderson, wasn't he?"

"Y-yeah..." Barbara closed the book awkwardly, and she shifted in her seat. It was uncomfortable learning the fact from his journal that he may have very well killed one of her best-friend's ancestors. "We're not going to tell anyone," she assured quietly, "just...we just wanted to know...from you." Diana nodded, leaning into her hand.

Getting to her feet, Diana heaved a breath. "I will get to bed," she said slowly.

"Oh..." Hannah mumbled. "Well—" She threw her arms around Diana in a warm embrace. Barbara set down her book and joined her. "I know you don't really hug much, but you know we're here for you right? We won't tell anybody, we swear."

"Yeah. And I'm not my grandfather either," promised Barbara, "you're safe with me."

Diana relaxed. "Thank-you."

**. . .**

_"Let me out..."_

Whispers flowed through the cracks of the dungeons' doors, accompanied by urging scratches.

_"Let me out... Let me feed..."_

No one came by that night. There were no duties to be done down there. The dragon scowled, grimacing as it palmed the puncture wound at its neck. _"Ack, she bit hard. I need to feed soon otherwise..."_ It paused. After all, _it_ was the real fool for attacking a Cavendish. For a brief second, the dragon's thoughts were clear and unravaged by panicked hunger. _"I am sorry, Beatrix. I have failed you... But...I am still hungry, and I must feed."_ The dragon furrowed its brows and played with its goatee. Its stomach thought for it. It sniffed the air, allowing the surging sensation in its chest to guide it.

There was a sorcerer's stone. It felt its energy in the air around it, fueling every possible being. Although, there was something else—no, _someone_. It didn't doubt that she'd be the only one, but... The dragon inhaled. _"Now that...is curious. The last time I have felt a witch's presence that strong was from you, Beatrix... How interesting. She is not the same, but she is too..."_ It grunted and clutched its stomach. Gasping, it muttered, _"Forgive me, though Beatrix. I must feed... I need to. I cannot serve Luna Nova otherwise..."_ The dragon hissed and resumed its scratching. 

_"Feed me. I am starving... Let me out... Let me out..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akko = got milk? Oh yeah, and Diana has that thing going on too...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> :)


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